Where’d you get that shirt?

We don’t think much about trade today. For example, the shirt you’re wearing probably traveled thousands of miles from a factory to you. But during this era, if you bought clothing made far away, you’d be the talk of the town. Merchants in ancient Afro-Eurasia and Mesoamerica went to great lengths to move trade goods. During this time period, thousands of years ago, complex regional trade networks were emerging around the world.

Why was there trade? In a word, cities. People wanted or needed things that they couldn’t grow or make themselves. And so, ancient trade networks developed, often to satisfy the wishes of the wealthy, but also to bring necessary food and tools for non-elites.

Roads, Winds, and Camels: The Afro-Eurasian Network

Afro-Eurasia, just 11 letters and (sometimes) a hyphen, is a word that includes a lot of stuff! Three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia) make up over half of the land on Earth and are home to most of the world’s population. Long before airplanes and the Internet, vast webs of merchant networks linked these three continents together.

This region was home to many of world’s oldest agricultural societies. Its geography and history helped trade grow. Over land, Afro-Eurasia had pack animals to carry goods over long distances, including horses and camels. By water, the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean made maritime trade relatively easy.

Many regions were known for certain goods. Silk originally came only from China and made its way across the vastness of Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, silk was so important that we call the complex routes that stretched overland from Egypt to China the “Silk Road.” But more than silk moved along these routes. India was known for cotton and spices like nutmeg and pepper. Ivory and gold were traded from the coast of East Africa, grain from Egypt, and iron from Nubia and the upper Nile. Greek and Roman wine and glassware were carried to the Chinese. Iron tools and the technologies to make them spread across Afro-Eurasian trade routes. Finally, in every region of this ancient system, enslaved people were also bought and sold.

We have evidence that regional trade networks existed in Afro-Eurasia both at the beginning and end of this time period. Take a look at the picture below. This is the Standard of Ur. It was created in the Mesopotamian city of Ur (in present-day Iraq) around 2400 BCE but is made from materials not found in Mesopotamia. The blue rock is lapis lazuli from Bactria (in present-day Afghanistan). The figures are made of white shells from the Persian Gulf. And the red stone is marble from India. The trade networks that made the Standard of Ur possible existed more than 4,400 years ago, and they continued to expand during this era. We also have written evidence that indicates trade networks extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. A first-century CE Greek sailing guide describes how merchants should sail between ports in the Indian Ocean and the times of year to do so. It also gives some idea of the sorts of goods that were traded across these networks including glass, gold and silver coins, singing boys, cloth, pepper, and silk.

Trade across land and sea changed communities across these continents. They connected almost all communities in Afro-Eurasia for the first time in history.

Sharp Black Rocks: The Mesoamerican Network

In the Western Hemisphere, long-distance trade networks also flourished. The most extensive of these was in Mesoamerica—in what is today Mexico and Central America.

Long-distance trade in the Americas faced significant barriers. Mesoamerica didn’t have pack animals, and its rivers were not good for transportation. Some sea-based trade took place in the Caribbean Sea and along the Pacific coast. However, American societies didn’t develop sailing technology. Instead, merchants used huge canoes. In Mesoamerica, humans had to carry most loads. The development of long-distance trade networks in this region, beginning around 3,000 years ago is pretty impressive, considering it was mainly done on foot.

Carrying goods on their backs, merchants moved between the large urban centers that emerged in Mesoamerica. Beginning around 1200 BCE, the Olmec and Zapotec peoples built major cities and trade routes in what is now southern Mexico. By around 150 BCE, the great city of Teotihuacan emerged further north.

Many Mesoamerican cities grew powerful because they were near valuable resources, such as obsidian, a black volcanic rock. Their societies did not use metal for weapons and tools; they used obsidian instead. Teotihuacan controlled two important obsidian mines. As long as it dominated the obsidian trade, Teotihuacan remained a regional powerhouse.

Many luxury materials circulated in the Mesoamerican network. Mayan merchants carried cacao, jade, and salt up and down the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Zapotec merchants on the Pacific coast were known for their cotton cloth and pottery. Further south, smaller societies traded jade and obsidian with their neighbors to the north. These trade networks also moved ideas. Many Mesoamerican societies shared religious and cultural symbols. Their practices were adopted elsewhere as traders shared them along trade routes.

The impact of networks on communities

Long-distance trade was difficult, slow, and expensive. So, traders mainly concentrated on goods that were easy to transport and promised a large profit. Trade often involved luxuries like jade, silk, spices, as well as easy-to-carry goods like paper and dried fruit. These merchants also forged new relationships between distant societies.

The rulers of cities and states encouraged trade. Trade networks brought in the wealth and resources needed to maintain complex societies. Cities and empires were not cheap. So, rulers often built roads and used their armies to protect trade routes from bandits. The work of merchants during this era laid the foundations for the larger, more connected trade networks that you will see in later eras.