Recommendable conjunction for the phrase “As such”

Q. What conjunction or expression would you recommend for the words "As such" in the following passage? (I cant' exactly figure out the meaning of it even though I looked up the dictionary.)

"The desire for written records has always accompanied economic activity, since transactions are meaningless unless you can clearly keep track of who owns what. As such, early human writing is dominated by wheeling and dealing: a collection of bets, bills, and contracts."