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Ancient Trade Networks

Driving Question: Why did ancient trade routes expand?

Local networks may have been more common, but long-distance trade also linked societies across Afro-Eurasia and the Americas. Though risky and slow, these routes moved people, goods, ideas, and diseases—shaping communities and transforming economies along the way.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Analyze how regional networks of exchange emerged and expanded over time.
  2. Evaluate how the sharing of goods and ideas such as metals and iron-making skills transformed societies.
  3. Use claim-testing skills to make an argument about the expanding networks of this era.

Vocab Terms:

  • cuneiform
  • elite
  • infrastructure
  • matrilineal
  • smelt
  • society
STEP 1

Opener: Ancient Trade Networks

Teaching Tools

Our Openers and Closers Guide will provide more information about these short-but-important activities at the beginning and end of each lesson.

STEP 2

Ancient Trade Routes

Teaching Tools

Looking for even more maps? Here’s an awesome map collection External link .

Trade routes connected the ancient world, spreading innovations, goods, and ideas. In the activity, create a map of those networks to understand how trade connected different regions, and then dive deeper with the article to learn more.

STEP 3

New Tools, New Empires

Teaching Tools

Need support for students reading these articles? You may want to try our Three-Step Reading Tool.

Explore different regions to compare how ancient trade networks affected each. Then, use what you’ve learned in the activity to draw conclusions about the impacts of these exchange routes.

STEP 4

Closer: Ancient Trade Networks

Teaching Tools

See how other teachers approach claim-making activities: Check out this conversation External link in the OER Project Teacher Community.