Modeling patterns of human migration -- Earliest human migrations, to 40,000 BP -- Peopling northern and American regions, 40,000 to 15,000 BP -- Agriculture, 15,000 BP to 5000 BP -- Commerce, 3000 BCE to 500 CE -- Modes of movement, 500 CE to 1400 CE -- Spanning the Oceans, 1400 to 1700 --...

Written for high school or beginning undergraduate students, this four-volume reference valiantly attempts to provide a historical framework for the perhaps overly broad concept of world trade. Entry topics were selected on trade organizations, influential people, commodities, events that...