Early Human Diffusion and The Silk Road

Fully modern humans developed around 200,000 years ago in East Africa

“Culture” (who can tell me what culture is again?)-language, symbols, tools, developed perhaps 50k years ago

Movement had already been happening! Even human ancestors had left Africa

For some perspective…

Early human migration

Culture developed and evolved in many places—some totally cut off from elsewhere and some not

Agriculture developed around 12,000 years ago in the Middle East

Most people did not come into contact with goods or people from more than a few miles from their birthplace

From there:

Ideas filtered between civilizations and spread

What’s this called again?

However,

What’s a luxury good for an NDP freshman? What’s something really valuable to you?

Why?

Valuable goods? Silk, precious metals, spices

And thus…

Imagine you’re in the Mediterranean region in the 2nd century…

The Silk Road!

Start: then-China capital, Chang-An

End: Mediterranean ports, India

Routes thru India and the Middle East

Series of routes across Asia that carried goods and ideas between China and Europe through central Asia, India, and the Middle East

How would the Silk Road promote cultural diffusion?

Was the Silk Road globalization?

Silk Road