Trade in the Prehistoric Global Societies

ECO 461                                                                                 Name ________________________

International Economics

Spring 2015

Trade in the Prehistoric Global Societies

1. Obsidian

Source: H

Destination: B

2. Pepper

Source: C

Destination: I

3. Copper

Source: Copper originated specifically from Cyprus.

Destination: A

4. Conch Shells, Cups, and Lamps

Source: J

Destination: N

5. Tin

Source: E

Destination: M

6. Elephants

Source: K

Destination: G

8. Copper. Around 3000 BCE, a community of herders initiated an attack against Sumerian herders. In response, the herders used rounded stones called maces, which had the propensity to crush a human being’s skull. However, when using the maces, the metal incorporated within the herders’ headgears that shielded them from the blow of the maces.
9. The Phoenicians. Accordingly, these persons are thought to be the first to engage in direct long-distance trading in the eastern Mediterranean (Bernstein 34).
10. In pre-modern gulf, the city of Dilmun was mostly associated with sweet or fresh water (Bernstein 26).
11. The tanks of the ancient world comprised the elephants (Bernstein 36).
12. A trade Diaspora was a fixed colony of international merchants who supported commerce between their original and adopted homes. Trade Diasporas are thought to have originated in the trading arc between Sumeria and Egypt, which covered over 3000 miles (Bernstein 31). As such, the Diasporas usually acted as intermediaries that facilitated exchanges over this extensive distance. Additionally, to act as intermediaries in the foreign trade between Egypt and Sumeria, the trade Diasporas had to gain trust within the cities they occupied. In such cities, the men were treated as guests in order to allow them to facilitate trade over the extensive trading arc. On the other hand, the intermediaries in the trade also required from the natives of their homelands. This would allow them to ensure that the exchange of commodities within the arc would be capable of being successful due to non-involvement of hostile persons against such trades.

Work Cited

Bernstein, William J. A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008. Print.

Marrewijk, Charles. International Trade and the World Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.