The Commodities that Connect Us:

The Silk Road

1 The Commodities That Connect Us:

The Silk Road

Social Studies, 7th Grade
Rene Delgado
2 Lecture Objectives and CA Content Standards
Objective: Explain a brief overview of the formation of the Silk Road, the commodities
traded along it, and the lasting effects of the Silk Road.
CA Content Standards:
7.2.5. Describe the growth of cities and the establishment of trade routes among Asia,
Africa, and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes (e.g.,
spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops), and the role of merchants in Arab society.
7.3.4. Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions
between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty.
7.3.5. Trace the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper,
woodblock printing, the compass, and gunpowder.
7.6.7. Map the spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to China, the Middle East,
and Europe and describe its impact on global population.
3 Before We Begin...
●Think of items you have and the food you love to eat around the house.
○How many of these items involve or are derived from paper, silk, woodblock printing,
tea, spices, porcelain, gunpowder?
●Now try to think of your daily life without access to any of these!
4 The Formation of the Silk Road
●The Silk Road was regularly used in 130 BCE
○This was when the Han officially opened up trade with the west.
●The creation of the Silk Road however was in the works a long time before that.
○The trade route and road that would eventually become what is known as the Silk
Road was actually made in 500 BCE

5 Persian Royal Road

●The Persian Royal Road was the predecessor to the Silk Road, established all the way
back in 500 BCE.
○It ran from modern day Iran all the way to the Mediterranean Sea where modern day
Turkey would be.
●With time, smaller side roads began to branch off of the Royal Road, some paths going
down into India.
6 Expanding the Road
●Due to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, the roads expanded even further
towards the East
○The most important city was his established city of Alexandria Eschate.
●In the late 200 BCE, the current Emperor of China sent for help from the western people
known as the Yuezhi to help in defeating a nomadic tribe.
○The messenger’s expedition led to the contact and discovery of many different
cultures and civilizations, one of which originating from the armies of Alexander the

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The Commodities that Connect Us:
The Silk Road

○The messenger’s expedition led to the contact and discovery of many different
cultures and civilizations, one of which originating from the armies of Alexander the
Great.
7 The Silk Road
●Trade with the West along the Silk Road began as early as 130 BCE, and lasted through
the changes of the world.
○Even while Western Empires changed and Chinese Dynasties rose and fell, the Silk
Road remained a constant trading route, although the amount of trade would ebb
and flow.
○During the Mongol Ascendency, where a lot of the trade route was under their rule
and in their territory, the Mongols also protected the route.
●Fully connected, the eastern side of the Silk Road originated at Xi’an and went all the
way west until it connected with the once called Royal Persian Road, where it then was
moved to a maritime route in the Mediterranean Sea.
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9 Before We Continue...
●What are some dangers that you could think of that traders would run into during their
trade expeditions?
●Why do you think both the West and East were so eager to trade with each other even
though they are so different from one another?
●What do you think about the fact that even while Empires change and break apart,
traders and everyday life are seemingly able to still continue on?
10 The Commodities of the Silk Road
●While Silk was one of the big reasons for the need for trade along between the west
and east countries, it was only one of many more important commodities.
○People traded textiles, furs, grains, spices and even art with each other along the
route.
●Some of the most important commodities traded were Teas, Paper, Woodblock Prints,
Compasses, and Gunpowder.
11 Tea
●Tea was first harvested most likely in China during the Tang or Han Dynasty.
○The methods of brewing tea however was different among cultures
●The tea trade slowly expanded from China into India and Turkey, only to further expand
into the Western world.
●Tea also found itself as not only a good tasting drink, but also as medicine and even
played a role in Zen Buddhism ceremonies.
12 Paper
●Paper was first made from the bark of mulberry trees in China. With time the Chinese
also discovered how to make it higher quality as well.
●The process of making paper from the natural fibers of trees was a technology that
spread along the Silk Road.
○It first spread to Korea, then to Japan, the Ottomans, Egypt, and finally to Spain,
where the first European paper industry was established.
13 Woodblock Printing
●While paper in itself was an amazing technology, it was even more important during
the Tang Dynasty when printing was invented.

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The Commodities that Connect Us:
The Silk Road
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●While paper in itself was an amazing technology, it was even more important during
the Tang Dynasty when printing was invented.
○It began its use as religious charms and Buddhist texts, but expanded to be used for
scrolls and books.
●Printing itself would evolve when the Chinese later invent movable type, which would
hasten the ability to make books more widely available in China.
● While the Islamic states did not use the knowledge of printing, they did know of the
technology.
●It is uncertain when printing was invented in the West, but it is possible that travellers
of the Silk Road may have brought the knowledge to Europe.
14 Compass
●While the first compass was invented in China during 200 BCE, it wasn’t documented as
being used as a navigation device until much later in the 12th century.
●Prior to the compass, navigators could only rely on the sky when the Sun was out on a
clear day or when the moon and stars were visible at night.
●It was most likely brought over to the Arab empires and then brought over to Europe
due to the similar design that all three compasses had.
15 Gunpowder
●Gunpowder was invented in China during the beginning of the 11th century.
○Was first extremely weak, but gradually improved.
●European would be known to the power of gunpowder during the 13th century where
it would be used in warfare all over the continent.
●Gunpowder would grow to change the battlefield forever, making walls obsolete along
with the then current army structure.
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17 Let’s Take a Moment...

●Let’s revisit the first questions I had asked you before we began the lesson.
●Now that you know more about the commodities that were brought to the Western
civilizations, which do you think changed the world the most?
●Make a list that ranks the importance of each item from left to right.
○The left being the least impactful commodity to the right being the most impactful.
○Be ready to back your reasoning up to other students when you come to class.
18 The Lasting Effects of the Silk Road
●Even with the closing of the Silk Road due to the withdrawal of international trade by
China in the Ming Dynasty and the rise of maritime routes, the Silk Road has left an
impossibly important mark on history.
19 The Spread of Religion
●Along with commodities like Silk and Spice, religions also flourished along the trade
route that connected the known world.
●Buddhism was the first religion to spread along, starting in India and spreading
onwards into China, Korea, and Japan by the 6th century.
○It became the dominant religion in China until the end of the Tang Dynasty, where it
still stayed important but no longer official.
●Christianity also spread along the Silk Road, but the kind that made it to the East was
known as Nestorianism, one that would anger Rome and the Byzantines with its
unorthodox methods.

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The Commodities that Connect Us:
The Silk Road

known as Nestorianism, one that would anger Rome and the Byzantines with its
unorthodox methods.
●The Middle East was affected by the Silk Road in the form of the spread of Islam, which
came to dominate the Middle East and North Africa.
20 The Need for Trade
●The trade with China and its luxuries was something that the west did not want to be
without for long.
●Their desire for East Asia’s exotic goods lead to the Age of Exploration, which would
lead to not only a trade route with India into China, but also lead to the discovery and
expansion into the Americas.
21 The Black Death
●Another secret traveller of the Silk Road was the bubonic plague.
○It is the famous and deadly disease that is known for wiping out almost a third of
Europe.
●It is theorized to have travelled along with Mongol armies and traders or may have
came over by ship with the rise of maritime travel.
22 A Legacy Still Felt Today
●Even today, where the silk road is not much more than a highway, the ancient road still
bears heavy signifigance.
●The Silk Road’s historical existence has been the driving force behind a proposition by
the United Nations to create a trans-Asian highway to connect from Asia to Europe to
even the southern tip of Africa.
23 Culminating Activity/Question
●On Friday, make preparations to come to class with:
○An item in your house that can be connected to any of the commodities mentioned
in this presentation.
●Be ready to answer the question:
○How do you think everyday life as we know it would be affected if we did not have
access to this commodity.

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