The movement of goods has been one of the major activities of humans. There is no place which contains all of the resources which humans need or want. People who live "here" always want something from "over there." Moving products from place to place requires a road or route of some sort. Early civilizations used the nearby rivers as highways of trade. As communities and civilizations grew, overland routes were developed. Numerous stories and legends have come from the activites and communities along these routes.

Use a laminated World Map to do the following.

I. THE SILK ROAD

The "Silk Road" provided a link between the Orient and the Mediterranean world for many centuries. Even before the Romans came to power, caravans carried products back and forth between China and the Levant or the shores of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Silk cloth was a major trade item. It was in great demand by the wealthy families of Europe.

1. The Silk Road began in Xian in central China.
   1. Find Xian on your map at 34Ø N. Latitude, 109Ø E. Longitude and mark it with an "X." (Thousands of life-size terra cota soldiers and horses were discovered several years ago in an enormous royal tomb in Xian.)
   2. Draw a line which runs westward between the Plateau of Tibet and the Taklimakan Desert (part of the Gobi Desert). (Lanzhou to Shache)
   3. Continue your line westward (from Shache) to Tashkent, then southwest to Samarkand, Tehran, Baghdad, and end on the coast of Lebanon.
   4. Mark an "X" on the coast of Lebanon and label this "The Levant."
   5. Write "SILK ROAD" over the route you have just drawn.

2. Marco Polo traveled along this route when he visited China in the 1200s. In addition to the silk he brought back to Europe, products such as spices created much interest. Spices helped preserve food and added flavor to plain, dull cooking. In the centuries following Marco Polo, the spice trade was to grow into international rivalries which would permanently alter human patterns on Earth.
   1. Mark an "X" on Rome, Italy, and on Paris, France.
   2. Draw a line connecting the Levant with Rome and Paris. Write "Silk & Spices" over this line.

3. During the early 1400s, Cheng-ho, a Chinese admiral, established several trade routes between China and the Middle East region.
   1. Mark an "X" on the city of Shanghai on the eastern coast of China. Connect Xian with Shanghai by drawing a line between them.
   2. Show Admiral Cheng-ho's trade route by drawing a line from Shanghai southward along the coast of China to the city of Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula.
   3. Continue the route from Singapore westward across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka, then to the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
   4. From there draw your line southwest around Saudi Arabia and into the Red Sea. Also draw a branch of that line southward along the coast of Africa to the city of Mogadishu in Somalia.
   5. Label this route "Cheng-ho, 1400s."

4. Ships can carry much more weight than a camel caravan and do it much more cheaply. Following Cheng-ho's death, the political situation of China changed. Being self-sufficient and shunning contact with the outside world, the Chinese withdrew from overseas trading even though they had the largest and best ships of their time. During this same period the Portuguese led the Europeans with voyages of exploration. These voyages established direct contact with parts of China and much of Southeast Asia. The early trade routes around Africa were soon controlled by the Portuguese. Mark an "X" at each of the following locations:
   1. The city of Lisbon on the coast of Portugal.
   2. The city of Luanda in Angola on the west coast of Africa.
   3. Anywhere along the coast of Mozambique in east Africa.
   4. On 15Ø N. Latitude where it crosses the west coast of India.
   5. On the east coast of China just south of Hong Kong.

5. All of the places you have marked with an "X" were Portuguese trading colonies in the 1500s. Many other European countries also established trading ports and colonies in the same region.
   1. Draw a line connecting all of the Portuguese trading ports you marked with an "X." Start at Lisbon and go southward in the Atlantic Ocean. Go around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and on to India, Southeast Asia, and China.
   2. Label the route "1498 - European Trade and Colonization Begins."

II. THE SILK ROAD TO AMERICA

1. For centuries, spices, tea, coffee, metals, and many other products were carried along the trade routes shown on your map. Silk cloth continued to be an item in much demand. In the early 1900s, the silk road to America followed a very different route and the silk was shipped in a very different form. Instead of manufactured silk cloth, live silkworms in their cocoons made the long journey.
   1. Draw an arrow from Shanghai in China eastward to Japan.
   2. Continue your arrow from Japan eastward to the edge of the map at 45Ø N. Latitude.
   3. Go to the western edge of your map. Starting at 45Ø N. Latitude draw an arrow eastward to Seattle.
   4. Label your arrow to America "Silkworm Imports."

2. Much care was taken to keep the silkworms alive inside their cocoons on their long journey across the Pacific Ocean. If they died, the silk filaments of their cocoons would be ruined.
   1. From Seattle draw an arrow eastward through Minneapolis, Chicago, and ending in Boston.
   2. Trains carrying silkworm cocoons in specially heated cars left the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, and dashed across the United States. In 1910, a single trainload of cocoons was worth almost $15 million! Label your arrow line to Boston "Silk Train."
   3. After arriving at the textile mills in New England, the cocoons were steamed, killing the silkworm inside. Each cocoon is made up of a single silk filament 2-3,000 feet long. Several cocoons are then unraveled and twisted together to make the thread for weaving. North of Boston write, "Silk Textiles."

3. As in the days of the ancient Silk Road, many special routes are in use today. Some carry logs and lumber. Others may carry iron ore, coal, or grain. Still others may carry gasoline, cars, the mail, or even fresh food items. Although most of these routes follow traditional roads and sea lanes, many trace invisible trails through the air.
   1. What is the name or number of the road or railroad that runs through your town? or the primary airline which links you to other places?
   2. Name a product that always seems to be carried along that route.
   3. Where is that product coming from and/or where is it going to? If you don't know, do some research and see what you can find out.
   4. Are there alternate routes that can be taken in the transport of that product?
   5. If that product is phased-out or no longer transported along this "traditional" route, what effect would this have on your town or community?
   6. What products passing through your town require special care in handling? And what plans are there to deal with the consequences of an accident involving that product?

TOP