As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services.

silk roads:

• worked best when large empires controlled all land they stretched
• mongols trade routes flourished
• luxury goods: chinese silk; make clothes— status symbol
• conduit of culture: buddhism; changed as spread: more materialistic, buddha becomes deity, zoroastrian fire rituals.
• disease also spreads. [black death/bubonic plague]. half of population dies.

indian ocean trade route

• linked people by sea
• common goods & luxury goods exchanged; porcelain, cotton/pepper, ivory/gold, spices | wheat sugar & rice.
• monsoons became predictable, magnetic compass, astrolabe(latitude calculation).
• chinese junks: 500 men, huge trunks
• economic prosperity & islam promotes trade, merchant activity.

culture change

• new kingdom: Srivijaya kingdom. dominantes trade.
• swahili civilization: gold, ivory, slaves. african merchant class. cities & urban commercial center.
  • comparable to greek-city states. not unified empire.
  • islam becomes dominant religion

trans saharan trade routes

• across north africa. varied environment = different goods, incentive for trade.
• items: cloth, glasswork, books, & grain, yams, kola nuts.
• arabian camel: transverse huge stretch of land.