Silk Roads: Exchange Beyond Goods

CASE BRIEF: Silk and spices traveled the Silk Roads — but so did Buddhism, papermaking, and the Black Death.

TASK: Trace the spread of religion, technology, and disease along Silk Road trade networks using merchant records and maps.

EVIDENCE: Silk Road trade route map - Merchant's account of goods traded at an oasis city - Timeline of the Black Death's westward spread

ANALYZE: Which kind of exchange spread fastest: goods, ideas, or disease? Why? Who controlled the safest, most profitable routes? How did religions change as they moved along these routes?

BUILD A CLAIM: Argue which form of exchange — material, cultural, or biological — had the most lasting historical impact.

RUBRIC: Distinguishes categories of exchange clearly - Uses the map and timeline as evidence, not just narrative - Addresses at least one negative consequence of connectivity