The Silk Road

7th Grade Early World History

What do you see, hear, and

smell in this picture?

Learning Targets for the Silk Road

• Describe how products and ideas were spread through the Silk Road

• Identify the Geographic locations and features of the Silk Road

• Identify the dangers of the Silk Road

• Assess the impact of the Silk Road on empires connected by the Silk Road

Item Originated in theUnited States

Originated inAnother Culture

Chewing Gum

Yo-Yo

Chocolate

Little Red Riding Hood

Ice Cream

Shampoo

Pasta

Lipstick

Fork

Doughnut

Roller Skates

Pancake

Sandwich

Paper

Zipper

Item Originated in theUnited States

Originated inAnother Culture

Chewing Gum x

Yo-Yo x

Chocolate x

Little Red Riding Hood x

Ice Cream x

Shampoo x

Pasta x

Lipstick x

Fork x

Doughnut x

Roller Skates x

Pancake x

Sandwich x

Paper x

Zipper x

The Silk Road

MERCHANT - a person whose job is to buy, sell & trade goods. (salesman or businessman)

The Silk Road: Time Period

• The Silk Road lasted for over a thousand years. • From the Roman Empire (3-200 BCE) until

Medieval Europe (1000s CE).

• There were three phases where it was used and traveled more than other times.• Han Dynasty (2nd Century B.C.E. – 2nd Century

C.E.)• Tang Dynasty (7th – 10th Century C.E.)• Yuan Dynasty (12th – 14th Century C.E.)

• Marco Polo visits China

The Silk Road: What is it?

• The Silk Road was not actually a road. It was not paved. It was not even a single route. 

• The Silk Road was a name given to a series of inter-connected trade routes that spanned across Asia (China to Rome). It was a 4000-mile trip. At one end was China. At the other end was the Roman Empire. 

Byzantine

Empire

Mongol Empire

Chinese

Empires

OttomanEmpire

MughalEmpire

Empires of the Silk Road

___________________

• Every civilization within the silk road had something the other wanted. Rome had gold and silver and precious gems. China had silk, spices and ivory. 

• In addition to physical objects, ideas also traveled along the Silk Road., ideas that affected everyone.• The spreading of goods and ideas

between cultures is known as cultural diffusion.

What would you title this section? Think about a term we used to describe trade in the Roman Empire.

Exchange of Goods

1. What do you see?

2. How can we compare this to the trade of today?

3. Why was this important to global history?

ITEMS TRADED ALONG THE SILK ROAD

OUD

BACTRIAN CAMELS

GLASS

CARPETS

METAL WORKPORCELAINJADE

SPICES

SILK

What items would you trade if you were a merchant of the Silk Road? List 2-3 items and why you would trade them.

Dangers of the Silk Road

• Over the centuries, the Silk Road flourished and developed a civilization of its own. • Where possible, the Silk Road became

lined with huge temples and booming cities.

• It became far easier to travel the road eventually.

• But it was never easy. There were still vast stretches of deserts and mountains to cross, with no city or water in sight. 

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE TRAVELING ON THE SILK ROAD?

Dangers of the Silk Road

• It was incredibly dangerous to travel along the Silk Road.• You faced desolate white-hot sand dunes in the desert, forbidding

mountains, brutal winds, and dangerous animals. 

• There was one nice section, called the Gansu Corridor, a relatively fertile strip that ran along the base of the Kunlun Mountains.• To reach this strip, you had to cross the Talamkan desert or the

Himilayan mountains• And of course, there were always bandits and pirates.  

• Even the traders did not make the whole trip. • They worked in relays. Each trader would go a certain distance,

exchange their goods for other goods, and hopefully return. The next would move along the road, trade, and hopefully return.  

• There were three main routes, and all were dangerous.• Northern Route – Westward to Black Sea• Central Route – Westward to Persia, Mediterranean Sea, Rome• Southern Route – Westward to Iran, India

Geography of the Silk Road: Even though there were many physical obstacles, trade

continued.

Himalayan Mountains

Pamir Mountains

Taklimakan Desert

Kunlun Mountains

Taklamakan Desert:

“The Desert of Death”

The Silk Road merchants avoided the Taklamakan Desert and passed through the oasis towns on its

outskirts

Section 3

Section 4

Today’s Instructions

• Put your stuff to the side of the room or desk groups with no paper on them

• Sit in the middle space on the floor

• Don’t touch any papers, desks, or objects set up in the room

Debriefing

• What aspects of the activity were the most challenging? Why?

• Would you have wanted to be a trader along the Silk Road? Why or why not?

Section 5

11/26/12 Bell Work

In addition to exchanging goods for riches, what else

was traded between the different peoples of the Silk Road and what was its effect

on the Silk Road?

Asian Empire Project

• You will be creating a Project as a group

• You will be in the same groups as you were for the Griot Project

• Read thoroughly through the Project Instructions and Rubrics

• This will be due next week on Tuesday, December 5th

2nd Period Groups

• Byzantine:

• China: Paige, Ben, Macleary, Anna, Jack N., Nick

• Mongul: Emma, Freeman, Emma T., Sean, Sara P.

• Mughal: Jack B., Madeline K., Lily B., Sara J., Aidan H.

• Ottoman: Maria C., Caroline D., Grace W., Andrew H., Joey C.

4th Period Groups

• Byzantine:

• China:

• Mongul:

• Mughal:

• Ottoman: