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system of weights and measures. In Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, and parts of Syria and Turkey) a complicated system developed because there were no numerals (1, 2, 3) as we know them. Instead of a number followed by a symbol for an item, each item had its own symbol that combined the number and the object. For example, there would be a sym- bol for one sheep and a different symbol for two sheep and still a different symbol for one goat, but no separate symbol for the numbers 1, 2, 3, and so forth. Measuring lengths was a little easier, as many cultures used measurements such as a finger, hand, foot, or step. Each kingdom or city- state also produced its own gold and silver coins. Not only were these coins different weights and values, but the puri- ty of the coins varied. In some places, for example, a silver coin was 92 percent silver and in others it was 87 percent silver. The Romans eventually developed a widely accepted

system of standard weights, measures, and coins, and took their standards to the countries they conquered. At its peak, the Roman Empire covered a huge area from modern England, through much of Europe, all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, and Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. Over time,

Did You Know?

Amber is fossilized tree resin found in countries bordering the Baltic Sea (modern Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). Archaeologists have found amber beads in a Siberian (Eastern Russia) tomb from the 600s BCE that could only have reached Siberia through long- distance trade.

The Origins of Trade 13