2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange

Period 2 – Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE

With the organization of large-scale empires, the volume of long-distance trade increased dramatically. Much of this trade resulted from the demand for raw materials and luxury goods. Land and water routes linked many regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. The exchange of people, technology, religious and cultural beliefs, food crops, domesticated animals, and disease pathogens developed alongside the trade in goods across extensive networks of communication and exchange. In the Americas and Oceania, localized networks developed.

Key Concept 2.3.III.B specifies Roman and Han imperial decline.

Illustrative examples, changes in farming and irrigation techniques:

• The qanāt system
• A variety of water wheels (noria, sakia)
• Improved wells and pumps (shaduf)