I see commerce as another way of expansion. Humans are
curious by nature. I can see that the curiosity to see more and explore other
places is a human necessity, and this could be how the long trade was
incorporated in empires/civilizations. These civilizations found ways to get to
other places; they traveled by sea and across the dessert to not only exchange
goods. They were able to trade culture, religions, language and diseases (on
the bad side). Small cities were able to stay in the loop on what was happening
in the big cities. The most popular goods they traded were silk and I wonder if
the trade of silk was one of the first steps in introducing “fashion” into
society. It’s amazing how this delicate fabric was used to differentiate power
among the elites.
But what is intriguing for me is how traders were able to
communicate and understand each other, what took traders so long to get to the
Americas if a trading phenomenon was in place, and why the Andes and the
Mesoamerica did not trade with each other.
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