The Silk Road and the Indian Ocean were both important trade routes between early civilizations and empires. The Silk Road was a land based trade route that connected European societies on the Mediterranean to those in China. The system was complex and created new economic interactions. Farmers and manufacturers were needed to produce goods to trade, wealthy elites were needed to buy these goods, pastoralists were needed to provide modes of transportation in the form of horses, camels, etc., and guides were needed to help travelers and merchants make it to their destinations. The Silk Road allowed for the exchange of food products across continents, along with manufactured goods, and technologies. Additionally, religion and ideas were spread easily through the many interactions between people of different cultures.
The Indian Ocean trade system, on the other hand, was more focused on the exchange of exotic or more valued products. Animals from Africa and ivory are a couple of examples. Culture was spread through marriage, because travelers and sailors married woman from foreign ports. As a result, the children were raised bilingually and with different cultural backgrounds.
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