During the postclassical period of 300 B.C.E -1100 C.E, networks were established that promoted communication and exchange between regions. Interchanges included the diffusion of cultural, biological and commercial aspects. Examples of these networks include; The Silk Road, which expanded from the Middle East throughout Asia to China. Even though the Silk Road was one of the greater expansions at the time, the Trans-Saharan Route was another terrestrial trade network, which expanded and connected north Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Although the Silk Road and Trans Saharan Trade routes transported diverse commercial products, such as salt and spices, flora and fauna, and diffused religion, it differed in that the routes crossed contrasting geographical territories using specific transportation and faced distinct…show more content… Since both of the routes crossed broad zones of land, it meant that there was a variation of sources for the luxury goods. For example, the Silk Road provided silk to people of the west, which merchants exchanged for plants and nuts, as well as metals that originated in the Middle eastern and Mediterranean regions. The trans-Saharan Route crossed over a vast desert and forests, which means that the merchants could trade an assortment of goods that came from different areas of Africa. A major similarity of the Silk Road and the Saharan Routes would be the trade of salt that occurred throughout both networks. After the Saharan desert dried up, and and became more arid after the Ice Age, populations were much more focused on the exchange of the leftover salt productions. Soon after, like the Sahara, the Silk Route interchanged salt as merchants cross-traded between the networks. All in all, the Silk Road and the trans-Saharan Route both provided a diverse collection of commercial goods to its