World History:The Earth and its Peoples

Chapter 7Networks of Communication And

Exchange,300 B.C.E. - 1100 C.E.

Objectives

• Identify the locations and describe the participants of the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean, and the trans-Saharan trade routes..

• Define the term “Africanity” and explain the development of “Africanity” in terms of Bantu migrations..

• Analyze the relationship between environment, transportation technology,and trade along the Silk Road, Indian Ocean, and trans-Saharan trade routes..

• Discuss the causes and patterns of the spread of Buddhism and Christianity..

Silk Road Map

Overview

Remember to give Students their quizzesBack Trade Routes• agricultural goods• manufactured goods• ideas• social systemDid more for cultural

inclusion than any emperor or king.

The Silk Road

Silk Road– connects Middle East to China– 1st Period: 150 BCE - 907 CE– 2nd Period: 13th-17th cen. CE

• Origins– nomadic traders– Chinese demand for western

products– Mesopotamian markets

• Parthians• hybrid camels

– existed solely for trade route

The Silk Road

Zhang Jian– Ferghana horses– alfalfa and domestic grapes

• Chinese Exports– silk, pottery, paper

Impact of Trade– settling of Iranian nomads– import of Turkic peoples

• yurts– interest in foreign religions– military

• chariot, bowmen• stirrup

• Prosperity from trade = peace

Silk Road Map

The Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean Maritime System– Indian Ocean / South China Sea– multilingual / multiethnic

seafarers– E. Africa, Arabia, India, China,

and SE Asia• monsoons

– lateen sails; long reaches– sail further from shore

• colonies– economic, not political– warfare rare

The Indian Ocean

Origins of Contact and Trade• Africa

– SE Asian settling of Madagascar• 2000 years ago• cultures of homeland

– Mozambique Channel• 1500 years ago

Impact– The Periplus of the Erythraean

Sea - 7th century CE• extensive written record of trade• ports of call from E to W

– bilingual and bicultural families• cosmopolitan in nature

Routes Across the Sahara

Sahara– 2500 BCE - 300 BCE

• shift in cultural patterns south– Mediterranean - S. Africa barrier– source of European exploration

• trans-Saharan caravan routes

Culture– cave paintings

• cliffs and caves– southern animals

• hunters, cattle breeders, horse herders, camel riders

• Trans Saharan Trade Routes– camel domestication

Camel Domestication

Camels in Africa– 1st century BCE– to Egypt from Arabia; S to N

• saddle purposes

Trade– South

• salt for forest products• Sahel - ‘coast’

– Saharan southern border– North

• food for Roman Empire– Roman N. African farms

• wild animals for Coliseum• post-Roman shift to Middle East

• Berber: trade for gold dust

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ghana - 600 - 1076 CE– “land of gold”– 1st documentable W. Africa– African with Muslim traders

• religious toleration

Sub-Saharan Africa– most important cultural

exchange– geographical obstacles

Sub-Saharan Africa

Geography– Sahara, Atlantic, Indian, Red

Sea– limited navigation of rivers

• steppes – treeless plains; coarse grass

• savanna– long grasses; scattered forests

• tropical rain forest

• Cultural traditions as a result of long period of isolation

Sub-Saharan Culture

Cultural Unity...– “great traditions”

• written language, legal system, ethical codes, intellectual traditions

– “small traditions”• local customs and beliefs• less-population density• distance between tribes• lack of accessibility to interior

– Common Elements• concept of kingship - isolation• fixed social categories• common agricultural cultivation• common music rituals

… emanates from Sub-Sahara

Bantu Migrations

“Africanity”– common African quality

Bantu– family of 300 sub-Saharan

languages– proto-Bantu as fishermen and

agriculturalists– iron-smelting

• language distribution• spread of agriculture• use of iron tools

The Spread of Ideas

Where do ideas and beliefs start?– Iron-smelting and pork

Religion– royal sponsorship– monks, missionaries, and

pilgrims• Silk Road and Indian Ocean

– Buddhism• Ethiopian Christianity

– Constantine’s missionaries– Patriarch of Alexandria

– writing system• Armenian Christianity