The Silk Road; Goods and Transportation

The Silk Road

Connecting the World; Goods and Ideas

Open Ended

If you had a million dollars to spend on any item(s) you wanted, what would you buy?

Open Ended

If you were rich in the year 400 A.D, what kinds of things do you think you could buy?

What Could They Spend Money On?

• The rich in ancient times didn't live all that differently to the poor, compared to the difference today.

• They may have eaten better food and worn better clothes, but their lives wouldn't have been all that different.

• To flex their wealth, they would have had to go for the exotic and foreign.

Enter: The Silk Road

• Allowed people to access goods they had never seen before.

• Connected China and India to Europe and Africa.

• The most important trade route in the ancient world, for hundreds of years.

Image Analysis

Use the following images to make informed predictions about features of the Silk Road.

What are some trade goods that you can see in this picture?

Open Ended

What were some goods that you might have been commonly traded on the Silk Road?

Trade from East to West

• The main good coming out of China was silk (how the Silk Road got its name). Silk was the ultimate status symbol in the West, and was very expensive.

• China also exported porcelain, ornate metal products, and paper, among other things.

Trade from West to East

• Trade went both ways. From Europe, China received food and animal products, especially furs.

• Eastern Europe also was a large exporter of slaves to India and China.

What do you notice in this picture?

What do you notice in this picture?

Multiple Select

What do you think were commonly used methods of transportation on the Silk Road?

• Horses

• Camels

• Carriages

• Dog sleds

Transportation Methods

• Horses and camels were the primary carries of goods, able to travel long distances and carry heavy loads.

• Traders generally traveled in caravans for safety.

Trade Routes

• The Silk Road was not one single route; it was a complicated series of constantly changing routes.

• Routes could go through mountain passes, deserts, steppe, and there were even entirely over-water routes.

Poll

What do you think would have been the hardest challenge of trading on the Silk Road?

• Harsh weather

• Bandits/raiders

• How long the journey could take

• Unknown diseases

Review!

Let's Test What You've Learned

Multiple Choice

What was NOT a commonly used method of travel on the Silk Road?

• Sleds

• Boats

• Horses

• Camels

Multiple Choice

What was one trade good that went from West to East?

• Silk

• Porcelain

• Fur

• Paper