Name:___________________________ Date: ___________ Global 9- Cook Period: _________ The Silk Setting out from China along the Silk Road (named due to the high demand for silk), fearful travelers might begin the journey with a prayer. As they set out on their trip, they had to worry about not only the very rough terrain but also the bandits along the way. Still, the possible rewards made the risk worth taking. So the travelers would tighten the straps on their pack animals-horses, mules, camels, or yaks laden with bundles of goods and in a band of 50 or more, protected by a bodyguard of archers, the caravan set forth. Week after week, month after month, the journey continued. The traders would roast in the deserts of the Takla Makan and freeze in the icy, snowy mountains. The great Silk Road stretched halfway across Asia and linked East Asia and the Mediterranean world. Still, few traders covered the entire distance. Instead, goods were relayed in stages from one set of trades to another. A Chinese historian described travel on the desert: see nothing in any direction but the sky and the “You sands, without the slightest trace of a road, and travelers find nothing to guide them but the bones of men and beasts and the droppings of camels…You hear sounds, sometimes of singing; and it has often happened that travelers going aside to see what these sounds might be have strayed from their course and been entirely lost.” In addition to the menace of natural forces, bands of raiders lurked along the route, ready to descend on careless travelers. Despite the dangers, traders and travelers moved along the Silk Road. Lucky traders might
Name:___________________________ Date: ___________ Global 9- Cook Period: _________ The Silk Setting out from China along the Silk Road (named due to the high demand for silk), fearful travelers might begin the journey with a prayer. As they set out on their trip, they had to worry about not only the very rough terrain but also the bandits along the way. Still, the possible rewards made the risk worth taking. So the travelers would tighten the straps on their pack animals-horses, mules, camels, or yaks laden with bundles of goods and in a band of 50 or more, protected by a bodyguard of archers, the caravan set forth. Week after week, month after month, the journey continued. The traders would roast in the deserts of the Takla Makan and freeze in the icy, snowy mountains. The great Silk Road stretched halfway across Asia and linked East Asia and the Mediterranean world. Still, few traders covered the entire distance. Instead, goods were relayed in stages from one set of trades to another. A Chinese historian described travel on the desert: “You see nothing in any direction but the sky and the sands, without the slightest trace of a road, and travelers find nothing to guide them but the bones of men and beasts and the droppings of camels…You hear sounds, sometimes of singing; and it has often happened that travelers going aside to see what these sounds might be have strayed from their course and been entirely lost.” In addition to the menace of natural forces, bands of raiders lurked along the route, ready to descend on careless travelers. Despite the dangers, traders and travelers moved along the Silk Road. Lucky traders might
Ancient%20Civilizations-%20PACKET%201.docx