Innovations
This Chinese invention let sailors find direction even without the sun.
What is the compass?
Indian Ocean ships could carry heavier cargo than camels on this land-based trade route.
What is the Silk Road?
Minority merchant groups living in foreign lands were called these.
What are diasporic communities?
These seasonal wind patterns made Indian Ocean trade predictable and safe.
What are the monsoon winds?
This device helped sailors calculate latitude using the stars.
What is the astrolabe?
This luxury Chinese good was a popular export.
What is porcelain?
Arab and Persian diasporic communities spread culture and religion to this region.
What is East Africa?
In summer, monsoon winds blew from this direction.
What is the northeast?
These massive Chinese ships could carry huge amounts of goods.
What are junks?
This South Asian fabric was a staple of Indian Ocean trade.
What is cotton?
Chinese merchants created communities in this part of Asia.
What is Southeast Asia?
In winter, monsoon winds blew from this direction.
What is the southwest?
These Arab ships used triangular sails to travel with the wind.
What are dhows with lateen sails?
These East African exports included tusks and precious metal.
What are ivory and gold?
Zheng He’s voyages encouraged this kind of transfer between regions.
What is technological and cultural transfer?
Traders had to do this in foreign ports while waiting for seasonal monsoon winds to change.
What is settle/settling (temporarily stay)?
This ship innovation gave sailors better precision in steering.
What is the sternpost rudder?
Name two food crops spread through Indian Ocean trade.
What are sugar, rice, and/or wheat?
Interregional contact through trade led to the spread of this major world religion across the Indian Ocean basin.
What is Islam?
These predictable winds encouraged not just trade, but also the growth of this type of cultural interaction.
What are diasporic communities (or cultural diffusion)?