It is widely accepted, as Hamilton mentions, that the beginnings of diplomacy occurred when a human being decided for the first time that hearing a message is better than eating the messenger. At this point, with the decision to assure the safety of a messenger, the primitive rules of diplomacy began to emerge. Messengers were sent from one tribe to another mainly to make peace in a rudimentary way, based on custom and even taboo. These earliest types of diplomacy in primitive societies took the shape of exchanging gifts, in a sense, to buy peace. The correct answer is Choice C.