Prelude to Globalization: How did the world become interconnected?

Today we will take a look at Ancient Trade in 4 World Zones and try to understand better how trade facilitated the early stages of globalization -- with the interactions among diverse groups of people exchanging not just commodities, ideas, technology, beliefs, languages, diseases, etc. and how advancements in technology and our knowledge of the world made it possible to speed up and cover greater distances and discover other areas of the world that had previously been unknown.  The process of globalization is what has led to the world we know and live in today. But how did we get here? And how did we get here so fast (in such a short period of human history?)  You know the short answer to this: collective learning. But let's explore this a bit more in depth and look at WHEN in history this began to happen, by whom, and what consequences (both good and bad) this led to... Let's begin! 

Helpful Links:
BHP: Interconnection Timeline
BHP: The 4 World Zones (PDF)
​Big Era Six: The Great Global Convergence (Presentation)

HW: Read Human Story ch. 9 "we find each other"; take notes in unit 2 notes doc

For homework, read The Human Story, Chapter 9 "We Find Each Other". Take notes that are relevant to the supporting questions you developed for Table 2: "How did the World Become Interconnected"?  Remember, only take notes that are relevant to your questions.