Trade, Travel, and Cultural Exchange

Why might Arab traders sailing the Indian Ocean prefer to sail their ships toward India in July?

• Weather conditions in July made travel along the Indian Ocean pleasant and easy.

• July was the peak trading season in India, so sailing there would be profitable.

• Maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean in July was low, making travel safer.

• The direction of monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean in July would favor their travel.

Study the map . Which of these places is the northernmost point marked on the map?

• Malao

• Jerusalem

• Thebes

• Berenice

Why did salt become so important in early African trade?

• Salt was necessary for mining techniques used to dig up gold.

• Salt was able to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration.

• Salt was required for daily rituals performed by Muslims in Africa.

• Salt was valued in hot climates because it helped humans not to perspire.

Choose the response that best fills in the blanks for this statement:

Trans-Saharan trade routes were primarily _____ based, while the Silk Road was _____ based.

• land; land and sea

• sea; land

• land and sea; sea

• land; sea

Which group controlled the Indian Ocean trade during the postclassical period?

• Gold traders from North Africa

• Muslim merchants from Arabia

• Naval officers from Europe

• Nomadic people of the Sahara

What made the Silk Road an important source of cultural diffusion?

• Many different peoples worked together to build the Silk Road.

• China closed the Silk Road forcing traders to find new routes.

• China used the Silk Road to conquer European countries.

• Many different peoples used it to trade with each other.