Eastern trade helped to shape cultures all throughout ancient history. Some of
the most important trade routes that you need to know are:
 The Silk Roads: from Asia to the Mediterranean basin
 Maritime Routes: spices across the Indian Ocean
 Trans-Saharan routes: across North Africa
 Northern European links with the Black Sea
 Western European sea and river trade
 South China Sea and lands of SE Asia
What key items were traded across the Sahara?
The Silk Road traded many items including:
Throughout trade, you also got the spread of technology and religion:
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Paper from China to the Muslim world to Byzantium &Western Europe
Printing and paper money from China
Sugarcane from India
Waterwheels and windmills
Compass from China and the lateen sail from India
Buddhism from India to China to Korea and then Japan
Hinduism from India to Southeast Asia
Islam into West Africa, and Central and SE Asia
Japan:
Location and Place
On a mountainous
Japanese archipelago
with four main islands;
East of China and close
to mainland Asia
including China and
Korea
Chinese Influence
Religion
Influenced by Chinese
in the government,
their writing, their
architecture, their
religion (Buddhism),
and their daily life.
Earliest Religion: Shinto
o Focuses on respect
of nature and
ancestor worship;
coexisted with
Buddhism