The Silk Road
7th Grade Early World History
What do you see, hear, and smell in
this picture?
Learning Targets for the
Silk Road
• Describe how products and ideas were spread
through the Silk Road
• Identify the Geographic locations and features
of the Silk Road
• Identify the dangers of the Silk Road
• Assess the impact of the Silk Road on empires
connected by the Silk Road
Item
Chewing Gum
Yo-Yo
Chocolate
Little Red Riding Hood
Ice Cream
Shampoo
Pasta
Lipstick
Fork
Doughnut
Roller Skates
Pancake
Sandwich
Paper
Zipper
Originated in the
United States
Originated in
Another Culture
Item
Originated in the
United States
Originated in
Another Culture
Chewing Gum
x
Yo-Yo
x
Chocolate
x
Little Red Riding Hood
x
Ice Cream
x
Shampoo
x
Pasta
x
Lipstick
x
Fork
x
Doughnut
x
Roller Skates
x
Pancake
x
Sandwich
x
Paper
x
Zipper
x
The Silk Road
MERCHANT - a person whose job is to buy, sell & trade
goods. (salesman or businessman)
The Silk Road: Time Period
• The Silk Road lasted for over a thousand years.
• From the Roman Empire (3-200 BCE) until Medieval
Europe (1000s CE).
• There were three phases where it was used and
traveled more than other times.
• Han Dynasty (2nd Century B.C.E. – 2nd Century C.E.)
• Tang Dynasty (7th – 10th Century C.E.)
• Yuan Dynasty (12th – 14th Century C.E.)
• Marco Polo visits China
The Silk Road: What is it?
• The Silk Road was not actually a road. It was not
paved. It was not even a single route.
• The Silk Road was a name given to a series of interconnected trade routes that spanned across Asia
(China to Rome). It was a 4000-mile trip. At one
end was China. At the other end was the Roman
Empire.
Empires of the Silk Road
Byzantine
Empire
Mongol
Empire
Ottoman
Empire
Chinese
Empires
Mughal
Empire
___________________
What would you title this section? Think about a term we used to describe
trade in the Roman Empire.
• Every civilization within the silk road had
something the other wanted. Rome had gold
and silver and precious gems. China had silk,
spices and ivory.
• In addition to physical objects, ideas also
traveled along the Silk Road., ideas that
affected everyone.
• The spreading of goods and ideas between
cultures is known as cultural diffusion.
Exchange of Goods
1. What do you see?
2. How can we compare this to the trade of today?
3. Why was this important to global history?
OUD
ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK
ROAD
GLASS
BACTRIAN CAMELS
CARPETS
PORCELAIN
JADE
METAL WORK
SILK
SPICES
What items would you trade if you were a merchant of the Silk Road? List 2-3 items
and why you would trade them.
Dangers of the Silk Road
• Over the centuries, the Silk Road flourished
and developed a civilization of its own.
• Where possible, the Silk Road became lined
with huge temples and booming cities.
• It became far easier to travel the road
eventually.
• But it was never easy. There were still vast
stretches of deserts and mountains to cross,
with no city or water in sight.
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE
TRAVELING ON THE SILK
ROAD?
Dangers of the Silk Road
• It was incredibly dangerous to travel along the Silk Road.
•
•
You faced desolate white-hot sand dunes in the desert, forbidding mountains, brutal
winds, and dangerous animals.
There was one nice section, called the Gansu Corridor, a relatively fertile strip that ran
along the base of the Kunlun Mountains.
• To reach this strip, you had to cross the Talamkan desert or the Himilayan mountains
• And of course, there were always bandits and pirates.
• Even the traders did not make the whole trip.
•
•
They worked in relays. Each trader would go a certain distance, exchange their goods
for other goods, and hopefully return. The next would move along the road, trade,
and hopefully return.
There were three main routes, and all were dangerous.
•
•
•
Northern Route – Westward to Black Sea
Central Route – Westward to Persia, Mediterranean Sea, Rome
Southern Route – Westward to Iran, India
: Even though there were many
physical obstacles, trade continued.
Taklimakan Desert
Himalayan Mountains
Pamir Mountains
Kunlun Mountains
Taklamakan Desert:
“The Desert of Death”
The Silk Road merchants avoided the Taklamakan Desert and
passed through the oasis towns on its outskirts
Section 3
Section 4
Today’s Instructions
• Put your stuff to the side of the room or desk
groups with no paper on them
• Sit in the middle space on the floor
• Don’t touch any papers, desks, or objects set
up in the room
Debriefing
• What aspects of the activity were the most
challenging? Why?
• Would you have wanted to be a trader along
the Silk Road? Why or why not?
Section 5
11/26/12 Bell Work
In addition to exchanging goods
for riches, what else was traded
between the different peoples of
the Silk Road and what was its
effect on the Silk Road?
Asian Empire Project
• You will be creating a Project as a group
• You will be in the same groups as you were for the
Griot Project
• Read thoroughly through the Project
Instructions and Rubrics
• This will be due next week on Tuesday,
December 5th
nd
2
Period Groups
• Byzantine:
• China: Paige, Ben, Macleary, Anna, Jack N., Nick
• Mongul: Emma, Freeman, Emma T., Sean, Sara P.
• Mughal: Jack B., Madeline K., Lily B., Sara J., Aidan
H.
• Ottoman: Maria C., Caroline D., Grace W., Andrew
H., Joey C.
th
4
• Byzantine:
• China:
• Mongul:
• Mughal:
• Ottoman:
Period Groups