Trans-regional Trade Networks
Cultural, Technological, and Biological Exchanges,
600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
Networks of Communication & Exchange
• Large scale empires = increase in long distance trade
• Developed from a demand for raw materials and luxury
goods
• Land and Water routes link regions of Eastern
Hemisphere
• Alongside trade, there was an exchange of:
– People
– Technology
– Religious and Cultural Beliefs
– Food Crops
– Domesticated Animals
– Disease Pathogens
Networks of Communication & Exchange
Long Distance Trade
• Two developments lead to increased trade:
1. Building of roads
2. Large imperial states
• Major Trade Routes:
1. The Silk Road
2. Trans-Saharan Route (Gold Road)
3. Indian Ocean Trade Routes
4. Mediterranean Sea Lanes
5. Turquoise Road
The Silk Road
• Trade in silk grew under the Han Dynasty in the first
and second centuries C.E.
• Central Asian herders ran caravans linking trade
between China and urban areas in Mesopotamia.
• The domestication of pack animals such as the
horse, oxen, and mule allowed goods to be
transported long distances
• The introduction of new technologies such as yokes,
saddles, and stirrups also increased the distances
goods could travel
The Silk Road
• Central Asian military technologies like the stirrup
were exported east and west.
– This significantly impacted the conduct of war at this
time.
The Silk Road
• The 7000 mile route spanned China, Central Asia, Northern
India, and the Roman Empire. It connected the Yellow River
Valley to the Mediterranean Sea
The Silk Road
• The Chinese traded their silk with the Indians for
precious stones and metals such as jade, gold, and
silver, and the Indians would trade the silk with the
Roman Empire
• Buddhism spread from India to China along the route
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Becomes known as the “Gold Road”:
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Early Saharan trade patterns included the exchange
of salt and palm oil.
• During the days of the Roman Empire, North Africa
also supplied Italy with olives, wheat and wild
animals.
• Later, during the African empires of Mali and
Ghana, gold became the major trade commodity
out of Africa (followed later by slaves)
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• Geography of Sahara desert
made early trade difficult
• Introduction of camel from
Arabia sometime between
1st and 3rd centuries C.E.
– Flat feet, ability to store fat
and water
• By the early 3rd century,
caravans crisscrossed the
Sahara to trade with
Mediterranean and Arab
worlds
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
• “Ships of the Sahara”:
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• In addition to the Silk Road, trade routes developed
between Africa, Europe, and Asia through the Indian
Ocean
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• The Indian Ocean trade network included sailors from
China Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Persia.
• Chinese pottery was traded along with Indian spices and
ivory from India and Africa.
• The banana came to Africa from S.E. Asia via the Indian
Ocean. The banana spread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Indian Ocean trade network will continue to play a
major role in the development of the Eastern Hemisphere
well into the 16th century.
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• New knowledge of
the monsoon winds
allowed sailors to
quickly sail between
East Africa and East
Asia
• Cosmopolitan cities
developed in ports
as sailors awaited
the winds
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
• New maritime
technologies such as
the lateen sail and
dhow ship also
increased exchanges
between the two
zones
Dhow ship with lateen sail
Mediterranean Sea Lanes
• An extensive network of trade routes developed
throughout the Mediterranean regions as well
– Linked up with the Silk Road and Gold Road to transport goods
to west Europe
Mesoamerican Trade
• As the Eastern Hemisphere became increasingly reliant
upon trade, the civilizations of Mesoamerica were
developing networks as well
• About the time of the height of Rome and the Han (c. 1st –
3rd centuries C.E.), the Mayan civilization began its Classical
Age on the Yucatan peninsula
Mesoamerican Trade
• The Mayan and other Mesoamerican
civilizations started an extensive
network of trade known as the
Turquoise Road
– Named after the lucrative trade commodity
– Sometimes referred to as the Scarlet Macaw
after the colorful bird of the region
• Trade would eventually extend from the
Yucatan to the Anasazi of modern SW
United States
Mesoamerican Trade
• The Turquoise Road:
• The Scarlet Macaw:
Impact of Trade Routes
• As traders and merchants moved
along these trade routes, not only
did they exchanged goods, but
they shared ideas, technology,
religions, cultures, food crops,
domesticated animals, and
diseases.
– Process known as “diffusion”
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Spreading of religions
– Buddhism from India to China via the Silk Road
– Christianity around the Mediterranean regions via
merchant ships and Roman trade
– Islam across North Africa via the Trans-Saharan Trade
routes
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Spreading of
religions
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
1. Numeric systems
– Arabic traders adopted from Hindu merchants and
eventually shared the ideas with Europeans who
adopted them for their own needs
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
2. Numeric systems
– Even more
interesting is
why our
numbers look
like this:
– 1, 2, 3, 4, etc…
It was all about
angles that the
Arabic traders used:
Impact of Trade Routes
• Cultural Diffusion:
3. Foodstuffs
– Rice and cotton from China to
Middle East
4. Clothing
– Persian head wrap in Hellenistic
culture and eventually adopted as
a Muslim religious tradition (hijab)
Impact of Trade Routes
• Technological Diffusion
1. Irrigation Techniques
– The qanat system of Persia spreads
across Asia and Africa
2. Paper making
– Techniques in making paper
spread from China across Eurasia
Impact of Trade Routes
• Biological Diffusion
1. Diseases carried by traders moved swiftly from
place to place along with the goods
2. Several major plagues wipe out vast populations
in Central Asia and Europe
– People had not been exposed to these diseases
– Urban areas hit hardest
Impact of Trade Routes
• Biological Diffusion
3. During 2nd and 3rd centuries, major epidemics hit
Roman and Han empires
– Smallpox and measles
– Severely weaken empires as populations shrink
•
•
Less soldiers
Less taxes
Impact of Trade Routes
• Smallpox:
Changes and Continuities
• Changes:
Move from barter to coins as system of exchange
Greater interaction between civilizations – direct
links between Rome and China
Cultural diffusion through trade – spread of
religion, architecture, disease
Decline in trade in Europe after fall of Rome
Changes and Continuities
• Continuities:
Dominance of India and China in trade
China’s demand for silver
The Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes
Constantinople as western trade hub