Week Eight Blog Post

There were a few patterns that persisted through 3rd wave civilizations. The first was the globalization of civilization. The second pattern was that older civilizations either persisted or were reconstructed. The third was that there was more extensive interaction between peoples at this time more than ever. This was due to long-distance trade and large empires that promoted cross-cultural interactions. The most influential part of 3rd wave civilizations would have to be the rise of Islam. The 3rd millennium is mostly about men's history but women played an important role too.

In terms of trade, it diminished the economic self-sufficiency of local societies. Trade also promoted social mobility. Trade transformed the political life of civilizations too.

Silk Roads made exchange across Eurasia possible. Silk Roads began through indirect trade between pastoral and agricultural people. They especially prospered when large states provided security for them on the roads. Silk was a major luxury good that was in high demand throughout Afro-Eurasian routes. However, the Silk Road's focus on luxury goods limited its direct impact on most people. But a lot of people gave up work to produce these luxury goods. Cultures spread on the Silk Roads, like Buddhism and Hinduism. Doctrines for these also changed along the roads. Diseases spread, like smallpox, measles, and bubonic plague.

There were also sea roads that made exchange across the Indian Ocean possible. Commerce on the Indian Ocean existed since the First Civilizations. It picked up during second-wave civilizations because mariners learned to ride the monsoons. Two major processes changed the Afro-Eurasian landscape and made Indian Ocean exchange important. The first was the economic and political revival of China. The second was the rise of Islam. Oceanic commerce affected Southeast Asia and East Africa the most, by political change and cultural change. In Southeast Asia, there were new cities, states, and kingdoms emerged that were shaped by commerce. Oceanic commerce spread Indian culture in this area, like political and religious ideas (Buddhism and Hinduism). In East Africa, the civilization of Swahili emerged, which consisted of a set of commercial city-states. There were many commercial opportunities because of African goods, which created a merchant class. Unlike the interior, Swahili was urban. Each city-state was politically independent, like Greece. Swahili was predominately Islamic.

Another kind of road were the sand roads, which helped exchange across the Sahara. Saharan trade or West African trade began among agricultural people. Camels were introduced at the beginning of the Common Era, which provided a way to transport goods across the hot desert. Camels traveled in caravans across the desert. States, empires, and city states were formed in the West African desert area. These were mainly monarchies which drew on wealth from trade. Hierarchies began to form in these areas. Slavery also became common.

In the Western Hemisphere, trade was completely different. There were limited interactions due to the absence of animals and transportation. There were also wide geographic and environmental differences that existed on the Western hemisphere that didn't pose a problem on the other side of the world. The most dense network communications existed in Mesoamerica and the Andes.