Commerce and Culture (8)

Eurasia gave rise to one of the worlds most extensive and sustained networks of exchange among its diverse people. The Silk Roads, these land-based trade routes linked pastoral and agricultural people as well as the large civilizations on the continent's outer rim. For almost 2,000 years the Silk Roads provided a way to trade goods, ideas, technologies and even diseases across Eurasia. This road helped both the outer eurasia and the inner eurasia come together and trade goods that each offered. The Silk Road prospered when large and powerful states provided security for merchants and travelers. Sea roads, were used as sea based trade routes that connected people from all across the Eastern Hemisphere. Transportation costs were lower on the Sea Roads , because the ship could accommodate larger and heavier cargoes. Which meant that the Sea Roads could carry more bulk goods, such as ; textiles, pepper, timber, rice, and sugar. In addition to the Silk roads and sea roads there was Dirt Roads that linked North Africa, the Mediterranean and West Africa. These Dirt Roads were revolutionized by Camels, which were the main form of transportation. They traded items like gold, salt, ivory and even slaves.