It might seem as if globalisation and trade is a relatively new thing, but it is an age-old idea that has escalated over the past few centuries - and taken a more immediate route since the rise of the internet. Trade and civilisation has been working hand in hand for a long time. Plato, a 3rd century BC Greek philosopher, wrote: 'It is almost impossible to found a state in a place where it will not need imports.'
Before the arrival of aircraft there were only two ways in which goods were moved - by land and sea. Land and sea routes are still used today for trading based on their historical locations. Many seaside cities were established as trading ports that helped to build empires. Even Hong Kong is the bustling city it is today because of its early importance as a centre for international trading.
Here we look at some of the routes used in the past by people to transport goods over vast distances. Some of them remain intact today; others have helped to establish important cities and financial centres throughout history and into the modern world.
Turquoise Roads
The trading network linking the peoples from Central America to what is now known as New Mexico became known as the Turquoise Roads.
The route stretched northwards for more than 1,600km through rainforests that passed through Toltec, Mayan, Aztec, and Anasazi cultures. It became known as the Turquoise Roads because of turquoise, the ornamental stone (pictured below) that was mined by locals, including the Anasazi, in what is now the southwestern United States, including California and New Mexico.