Maybe we can call blockchains new, but they are still just an improved way of keeping track of something we already had: Money.

Tally sticks : The first blockchain...!
circa: 12th century - utpo 19th century
The split tally was a technique which became common in medieval Europe, which was constantly short of money (coins) and predominantly illiterate, in order to record bilateral exchange and debts.

The genius in that was it's sheer simplicity.