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Long before the development of the Atlantic slave trade, slavery existed all along the Silk Road. Private merchants handled most of the trade but governments also imposed taxes on both the movement and sale of slaves. In a new book called  " Silk, Slaves and Stupas: Material Culture of the Silk Road ,"  Susan Whitefield traces the stories of some of the these slaves and makes some interesting conclusions.  For example, Whitefield notes that the trade was both local and regional.   She notes that the trade in Slavs was the one of the most extensive. They were "captured by the Rus in northern Europe and sold at the capital of the Bulgars," especially in the ninth and tenth centuries. Jewish merchants controlled another big network that extended from "western Europe through to Africa, Arabia, India, and China." You can read more about Whitefield's book at her blog here . Thanks to Bram Hubbel for tweeting the link to this story. As Hubbell notes, this sho

The Silk Roads Foundation, a non- profit organization started in 1996, to promote the study and preservation of cultures and art on Inner Asia and the Silk Road, has a website with terrific links to maps and journal articles about the Silk Roads. Click on Articles, then Journals, and you'll find links to stories about the Silk Roads from Aramco World including The Autobiography of A Coin by Franklin Holt, and The Golden Horses of Turkmenistan by Jonathan Maslow. One of the most interesting parts of the website are "studies." One of the "studies" reviews how Buddhism spread along the Silk Roads. Another study reviews Dunhuang cave art. Unfortunately, some of the images no longer work. The history of silk  and how its made is another fascinating study. You'll also find terrific trade maps if you scroll down the left hand menu to Maps. One shows China's trade during the Tang dynasty along the Silk Route during the 8th century. Route Maps show the routes

Here are two terrific animated clips that explain two concepts in Hinduism--the idea of many gods and the idea of Brahman or oneness.  One runs less than two minutes and the other less than four. Both come from a YouTube channel called Epified. I found them on another blog about Hinduism.

The Song Dynasty and the  Golden Age of China Michael Wood reviews China's golden age in Episode 3 in  The Story of China.  The series premiered last summer . Wood notes that Keifeng became the largest city in the world and shows the vitality of that city in the famous The Qingming Scroll .  Lamp lit streets, tea shops, book shops, restaurants, and music all characterized Kefeng in the twelfth century. Wood reviews inventions like movable type and the magnetic compass. You can watch or assign specific clips about these inventions at PBS Learning Media here .

Here's the AP World score overview for the 2018 exam from Trevor Packer. Almost 9% earned a 5, almost 20% earned 4's, and the number of 3's and 2's were similar at about 27%.  And 15% earned only 1 point. You can see how students did on different components of the exam in the tweets below. On the multiple choice, Packer notes that students did better on Period 4 than on period 3. Packer initially announced that he would split the course in 2019 and begin with period 4.

Studying Islam? Here is a  terrific website that reviews the achievements of pre-Renaissance Islamic culture called Muslim Heritage.  It covers Muslim art, architecture, literature, culture, music and people.  It includes images, essays, videos, and maps. Among the featured essays on the site's home page is one one of my favorites, Mega Cities on the Silk Road.  Can you list three of the biggest? Xi’an (Chang’an) is at the top. It became the capital of the Chinese empire in the 4th century and was a significant trading post and melting pot. Under the Tang Dyasty, it was home to a panoply of religions including Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity and Islam. Another top mega city along the Silk Road included Samarkand in the heart of central Asia. From Han times, merchants from Samarkand traveled as far China and Tamerlane was one of its prominent leaders. Another essay, Technology in Sub-Saharan Cultures , reviews advances in metallurgy and quarryi

Here's a running list of the press coverage about the proposed changes to AP World. Those changes, announced by Trevor Packer, senior vice president of Advanced Placement and instruction at the College Board,  would start the course in 1450 instead of thousands of years earlier with prehistory. The proposed changes infuriated many teachers because it would exclude the rich and diverse history of Afro-Erasia.    For example, students would not learn about the rise and spread of Islam, the golden age of the Tang and Song dynasty, the travels of Ibn Batutta and Marco Polo, or even the Mongols. Some teachers questioned Packer at an Open Forum during the AP Reading in Salt Lake City in early June.   One teacher's questions, Amanda DoAmaral's, went viral. Now, major news organizations are writing about the controversy. Politico and Atlantic Magazine are two of the most recognizable but academics like Dr. Peter Stearns, provost at George Mason University and the author of world hi

Changes to the AP World curriculum, the third major change in the last 3 years, has enraged many teachers and academic bigwigs.  That's because the College Board recently announced that in the 2019-2020 school year, AP World History will begin in 1450 with exploration and the rise of the West.  Since its inception in 2002, AP World started with prehistory. The announcement came shortly before the AP World Reading in Salt Lake City (where AP teachers score the AP test). Teachers questioned Trevor Packer, senior vice president of Advanced Placement and instruction at the College Board, at an evening open forum.  The change, according to many teachers, would exclude the rich history of Afro-Eurasia before European contact.  For example, students would not learn about the rise and spread of Islam, the golden age of the Tang and Song dynasty, the travels of Ibn Batutta and Marco Polo, or, "wait for it," the Mongols.  Some teachers said the changes would force them to teach a w

Here's another great TedEd lesson from Alex Gendler about life in ancient Greece after the Spartans invade and push the Athenians inside their walls.  You 'll see the importance of slavery in everyday life through the lives of a wealthy young couple with two children. One of the children is a daughter, who some see as a liability because girls need dowires to find husbands.