1. Networks of Communication and Exchange, 300 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.
Ch. 7 (p )

2. The Silk Road Linked lands of Mediterranean with China
Passed through Mesopotamia, Iran & Central Asia

3. The Silk Road

4. The Silk Road Parthians Zhang Jian Sasanid Empire
Early Iranian group that settled in Central Asia & came to power ~247 B.C.
Shared customs w/ nomads & fostered Silk Road
Zhang Jian
Chinese General
Led expeditions along Silk Road & introduced China to many new products
Sasanid Empire
Defeated Parthians ~224 A.D.
Built military strongholds on Silk Road to protect trade

5. Parthia

6. Sasanid Empire

7. Indian Ocean Maritime System
Trade network across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea
Tied together lands of East Africa, southern Arabia, the Persian Gulf, India, Southeast Asia & southern China
Used monsoon winds to navigate Indian Ocean

9. Indian Ocean Maritime System
Had a great variety of highly valued products
Many Indian Ocean ports were isolated
Ex. Arabian peninsula, African side of Red Sea, etc.
Some ports were more hospitable & densely populated
Ex. Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, eastern India, etc.

10. Routes Across the Sahara
Desert stretching from Red Sea to Atlantic Ocean
Interrupted only by the Nile
Isolated sub-Saharan Africa from Mediterranean World
Trans-Saharan caravan routes
Difficult trade routes over Sahara

11. Trans-Saharan trade routes

12. Routes Across the Sahara
Geography
Sand dunes, sandy plains, exposed rock
Rugged mountains
Little water
Camel
Enabled traders to enter the Sahara
Pack animals

14. Routes Across the Sahara
Trade routes in North and South eventually became linked
In the South, trade routes connected to the Sahel (southern borderlands of Sahara)
In the North, Roman colonists supplied Italy with African products (wheat, olives, etc.)

15. Sahel

16. Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Geography
Portion of Africa south of the Sahara
Few external contacts
Cultural contact occurred through folk migrations (300 B.C.E C.E.)
Geography
Many geographical obstacles
Sahara, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, etc.
Dramatically different climate zones

18. Sub-Saharan Africa Cultural Diversity African Cultural Characteristics
Occurred because of internal isolation (sparse populations)
African Cultural Characteristics
Cultivation using a hoe & digging stick
Music played a role in social rituals
Ritual isolation of the king
Social categories

19. Sub-Saharan Africa
Agriculture became common in central Africa by the second millennium B.C.
Then spread southward displacing hunting and gathering
Iron smelting became common in central Africa by the first millennium B.C.
Then spread southward

20. Sub-Saharan Africa
Bantu = Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages
Bantu homeland was near modern Nigeria & Cameroon
Linguistic evidence suggests that the Bantu may have helped spread iron & farming
Bantu probably used iron axes and hoes to clear forests and plant crops
From 500 B.C.E C.E., there was a massive transfer of Bantu traditions & practices to preexisting African societies

21. Bantu Migrations