Cultures and Civilizations
The Silk and Spice Routes
by Struan Reid
The history of humankind, its cultures and civilizations, is inextricably linked with the development of trade. Cities grew up around the markets it took place in and empires were built on the wealth it created.
Across Asia, the paths of the Silk and Spice Routes brought together the many different peoples of these empires and cites. When meeting to trade, they not only exchanged precious goods but also the ideas and beliefs that shaped each of their cultures--ideas expressed in their lifestyles, their arts and even in the goods they had to sell. By these means, cultures slowly changed, amalgated and developed.
Splendidly illustrated with dozens of historic visuals, Cultures and Civilizations explores the interrelations of trade and cultures as they developed along the Silk and Spice Routes.
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Reviews
"Both books are richly illustrated with reproductions of artifacts, maps and artwork, as well as photographs of people and places. They present an interpretation of history quite different from the Eurocentric one to which we are accustomed. Culture and Civilizations and Inventions and Trade will be prized by teachers of world history. I highly recommend them to high school libraries."