Key Concept 3.1. Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks

Key Concept 3.1. Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks

Although Afro-Eurasia and the Americas remained separate from one another, this era witnessed a deepening and widening of old and new networks of human interaction within and across regions. The results were unprecedented concentrations of wealth and the intensification of cross-cultural exchanges. Innovations in transportation, state policies, and mercantile practices contributed to the expansion and development of commercial networks, which in turn served as conduits for cultural, technological, and biological diffusion within and between various societies. Pastoral or nomadic groups played a key role in creating and sustaining these networks. Expanding networks fostered greater interregional borrowing, while at the same time sustaining regional diversity. The prophet Muhammad promoted Islam, a new major monotheistic religion at the start of this period. It spread quickly through practices of trade, warfare, and diffusion characteristic of this period.

I. Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade, and expanded the geographical range of existing and newly active trade networks.

A. Existing Trade Routes flourished and promoted growth of powerful new trade cities.
Location / Major Goods and Methods / New Trading Cities
The Silk Roads (Ch. 18) / Hangzhou
Baghdad
The Mediterranean Sea
(Ch. 13, 14, 17, 20) / Venice
The Trans-Saharan
(Ch. 14, 19) / Timbuktu
Indian Ocean Basin
(Ch. 16, 22) / Swahili city-states
Calicut
Melaka
The Baltic Sea
(Ch. 17, 20) / Novgorod
Identify and explain the rise of ONE new trade city in the period 600 C.E. – 1450 C.E.
Identify and explain ONE way in which the city served as a center or production or commerce.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
B. Communication and exchange networks developed in the Americas (Ch. 21)
Characteristics / Pattern of Trade
Mesoamerica (Tenochtitlan)
Mississippi River Valley (Cahokia)
Andes Mountains
C. The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies, including more sophisticated the caravanserai; use of the compass, astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel; and new forms of credit and monetization.
Luxury Goods
·  Silk and Cotton textiles
·  Porcelain
·  Spices
·  Precious Metals/Gems
·  Slaves
·  Exotic Animals
(Chapters 13-22) / Identify and explain the growth of TWO luxury goods from the period of 600-1450.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
·  Bills of exchange
·  Credit
·  Checks
·  Banking Houses
(Ch. 14, 15, 16, 20) / Identify and explain ONE new form of monetization and ONE effect it had on commerce during the period 600-1450.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
D. Commercial growth was also facilitated by state practices, trading organizations, and state-sponsored commercial infrastructures like the Grand Canal in China.
Explain the development / Discuss the impact on commerce
State Practice:
Minting Coins
Use of paper money
(Ch. 13, 14, 15)
State Practice:
Inca Roads
(Ch. 21)
Trade Organization:
Hanseatic League (Ch. 20)
E. The expansion of empires facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new peoples were drawn into their conquerors’ economies and trade networks.
Empire / Identify and explain ONE way in which each empire facilitated trade and communication, including how they drew conquered people into their economies.
China
(Ch. 15) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
The Byzantine Empire
(Ch. 13) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
The Caliphates
(Ch. 14) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
The Mongols
(Ch. 18) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:

II. The movement of peoples caused environmental and linguistic effects.

A. The expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes often depended on environmental knowledge and technological adaptations to it.
Identify and explain ONE way in which each group below overcame geographic barriers to interact with distant societies.
The Scandinavian Vikings
(Longships)
(Ch. 17) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
The Berbers and Arabs
(Camels)
(Ch. 14) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Central Asian pastoral groups
(Horses)
(Ch. 18) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
B. Some migrations had a significant environmental impact.
Identify and explain the environmental impact of the migration of the groups below.
Bantu-speaking peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Ch. 19) / Transmission of iron technologies:
Agricultural techniques:
Polynesian peoples in the islands of the Pacific and South Pacific
(Ch. 21) / Transplanted foods:
Domesticated animals:
C. Some migrations and commercial contacts led to the diffusion of languages throughout a new region or the emergence of new languages
Identify and explain how migration led to the spread of the languages below in detail.
Spread of Bantu Languages
(Ch. 19) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Spread of Turkic and Arabic languages
(Ch. 14, 18) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:

III. Cross-cultural exchanges were fostered by the intensification of existing, or the creation of new, networks of trade and communication.

A. Islam, based on the revelations of the prophet Muhammad, developed in the Arabian peninsula. The beliefs and practices of Islam reflected interactions among Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians with the local Arabian peoples. Muslim rule expanded to many parts of Afro-Eurasia due to military expansion, and Islam subsequently expanded through the activities of merchants and missionaries.
Notes and Explanation
Major tenets of Islam
(Ch. 14)
Major Developments in Islamic world from 600 - 1450
(Ch. 14) / Identify and explain TWO ways in which Islam expanded throughout Afro-Eurasia
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
B. In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous culture.
Community / Region / Practices and influence on the region
Muslim Merchant communities
(Ch. 14, 19, 22) / Indian Ocean region
Chinese merchant communities
(Ch. 22) / Southeast Asia
Jewish communities / Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Silk Roads
Identify and Explain the formation and impact of ONE diasporic community in the period from 600-1450.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
C. As exchange networks intensified, an increased number of travelers within Afro-Eurasia wrote about their travels. Their writings illustrate both the extent and the limitations of intercultural knowledge and understanding.
Regions visited / Details of the accounts of the traveler and about the role they have played in history
Ibn Battuta
(Ch. 22)
Marco Polo
(Ch. 22)
Xuanzang
Identify and explain ONE similarity between Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Identify and explain ONE difference between Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
D. Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of literary, artistic, and cultural traditions, as well as scientific and technological innovations
Identify and explain ONE cultural effect of cross cultural interactions for each row below.
Neoconfucianism and Buddhism in East Asia
(Ch. 15) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia
(Ch. 16) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia
(Ch. 16, 19) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Toltec/Mexica traditions in Mesoamerica
(Ch. 21) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Inca influences in Andean America
(Ch. 21) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Influence of Greek and Indian mathematics on Muslim scholars
(Ch. 14) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Return of Greek science and philosophy to Western Europe via Muslim al Andalus in Iberia
(Ch. 21, 22) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Spread of printing and gunpowder technologies from East Asia into the Islamic empires and Western Europe
(Ch. 15, 20, 22) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:

IV. There was CONTINUED diffusion of crops and pathogens, including epidemic diseases like the bubonic plague, throughout the Eastern Hemisphere along the trade routes.

New foods and agricultural techniques were adopted in populated areas.
Identify and explain the diffusion of THREE crops during the period of 600 – 1450.
Bananas in Africa
(Ch. 19) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
New rice varieties in East Asia
(Ch. 15) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Cotton, sugar, and citrus throughout Dar al-Islam and the Mediterranean basin
(Ch. 14) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Identify and explain the ONE factor leading to the spread of the bubonic plague.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Identify and explain the impact of the bubonic plague on TWO regions.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:

Key Concept 3.2. Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions

State formation in this era demonstrated remarkable continuity, innovation and diversity in various regions. In Afro-Eurasia, some states attempted, with differing degrees of success, to preserve or revive imperial structures, while smaller, less centralized states continued to develop. The expansion of Islam introduced a new concept — the Caliphate — to Afro-Eurasian statecraft. Pastoral peoples in Eurasia built powerful and distinctive empires that integrated people and institutions from both the pastoral and agrarian worlds. In the Americas, powerful states developed in both Mesoamerica and the Andean region.

I. Empires collapsed and were reconstituted; in some regions new state forms emerged.

A. Following the collapse of empires, most reconstituted governments, including the Byzantine Empire and the Chinese dynasties (Sui, Tang, and Song), combined traditional sources of power and legitimacy with innovations better suited to the current circumstances.
Traditional sources of power and legitimacy / Political Innovations
The Byzantine Empire
(Ch. 13) / Patriarchy:
Land-Owning Elites:
Religion: / New Methods of Taxation:
Adaptations of religious institutions:
Tributary systems:
Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties
(Ch. 15) / Patriarchy:
Land-Owning Elites:
Religion: / New Methods of Taxation:
Adaptations of religious institutions:
Tributary systems:
The Caliphates
(Ch. 14) / Patriarchy:
Religion: / New Methods of Taxation:
Adaptations of religious institutions:
Tributary systems:
Medieval Europe
(Ch. 17, 20) / Patriarchy:
Land Owning Elites:
Religion: / New Methods of Taxation:
Adaptations of religious institutions:
Tributary systems:
B. In some places, new forms of governance emerged, including those developed in various Islamic states, the Mongol Khanates, city-states, and decentralized government (feudalism) in Europe and Japan
Political Characteristics / Administrative Techniques / Reasons for Decline
Abbasids
(Ch. 14)
Muslim Iberia
(Ch. 14, 17, 20)
Delhi Sultanate
(Ch. 16)
Italian city-states
(Ch. 17, 20)
East African city-states
(Ch. 19, 22)
Southeast Asian city-states
(Ch. 16)
C. Some states synthesized local with foreign traditions.
Identify and Explain TWO ways in which a state synthesized a local with a foreign tradition.
Persian traditions that
influenced Islamic states
(Ch. 14) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Chinese traditions that
influenced states in
Japan
(Ch. 15) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
D. In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems expanded in scope and reach: Networks of city-states flourished in the Maya region and, at the end of this period, imperial systems were created by the Mexica (Aztecs) and Inca.
Political Characteristics / Administrative Techniques / Location
Mayan City-States
(Ch. 21)
The Mexica
(Ch. 21)
The Inca
(Ch. 21)

II. Interregional contacts and conflicts between states and empires encouraged significant technological and cultural transfers, including transfers between Tang China and the Abbasids, transfer across Mongol empires, transfers during the Crusades, and transfers during Chinese maritime activity led by Ming Admiral Zheng He.

Cultural and Technological Diffusion
Identify and explain THREE examples of interregional technological or cultural transfers during the period of 600 - 1450.
Between Tang China and Abbasids
(Ch. 14, 15, 22) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
Across Mongol empires
(Ch. 18, 22) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
During the Crusades
(Ch. 17, 20) / Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:

Key Concept 3.3. Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences

Changes in trade networks resulted from and stimulated increasing productive capacity, with important implications for social and gender structures and environmental processes. Productivity rose in both agriculture and industry. Rising productivity supported population growth and urbanization but also strained environmental resources and at times caused dramatic demographic swings.

Shifts in production and the increased volume of trade also stimulated new labor practices, including adaptation of existing patterns of free and coerced labor. Social and gender structures evolved in response to these changes.

I. Innovations stimulated agricultural and industrial production in many regions.

A. Agricultural production increased significantly due to technological innovations.
Describe the technological innovation / Impact
Chinampa filed systems
(Ch. 20)
Waru Waru agricultural techniques in the Andes
(Ch. 20)
Improved terracing techniques
(Ch. 15)
The horse collar
(Ch. 20)
Crop Rotation
(Ch. 20)
Identify and explain ONE innovation from the period of 600 – 1450 that led to an increase in agricultural productivity.
Ex:
Exp:
Evi:
Elab:
B. Demand for foreign luxury goods increased in Afro-Eurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans and merchants expended their production of textiles and porcelains for export; industrial production of iron and steel expanded in China.
Explain the ways in which production of luxury goods expanded in each region.
Chinese luxury goods
(Ch. 15)
Persian luxury goods
(Ch. 14)
Indian luxury goods
(Ch. 16)

II. The fate of cities varied greatly, with periods of significant decline, and with periods of increased urbanization buoyed by rising productivity and expanding trade networks.

A. Multiple factors contributed to the declines of urban areas in this period.
Where was this occurring? / Discuss the impact
Invasions
Disease
Decline of Agricultural Productivity
The Little Ice Age
B. Multiple factors contributed to urban revival.
Cause of this development / Specific Impact on Urbanization
End of
Invasions
Availability of safe and reliable transport
Rise of commerce and the warmer temperatures between 800
and 1300
Increased agricultural productivity and subsequent rising
Population
Greater availability of labor also contributed to urban growth
C. While cities in general continued to play the roles they had played in the past as governmental, religious, and commercial centers, many older cities declined at the same time that numerous new cities emerged to take on these established roles.
Cities that Declined / New Cities of Importance
Europe
China
Persia and Middle East
East Africa
India
West Africa
The Americas

III. Despite significant continuities in social structures and in methods of production, there were also some important changes in labor management and in the effect of religious conversion on gender relations and family life.