NewarchaeologicaldiscoverssuggestthattradebetweenEuropeandAsiaalongtheSilk
Roadprobablybeganinsomeformmanycountriesearlierthanoncethought.Thefindingscoupledwithawideningrangeofscientificandhistoricalresearchcouldaddafascinatingnew
pagetotheepicoftheSilkRoad.
ThelatestandmostsurprisingdiscoveryispiecesofsilkfoundinthehairofanEgyptianmummyfromabout1000BClongbeforeregulartrafficontheSilkRoadandatleastonethousandyearsbeforesilkwaspreviouslythoughttobeusedinEgypt.OtherresearchmayextendhumanactivityalongthisroutebackevenfurtherperhapsamillionyearstothemigrationofhumanancestorsintoeasternAsia.
TheofficialoriginofEast-Westcommercealongtheroadisusuallyplacedinthelate2ndcenturyBCwhenanagentoftheChineseEmperorWu-direturnedfromadangeroussecretmission(使命)acrossthedesertintotheremotehighcountryofCentralAsia.TheagentZhangQiantravelledasfarasAfghanistanandbroughtbackknowledgeofevenmoredistantlandssuchasPersiaSyriaandaplaceknownasLijienperhapsRome.Historianshavecalledthisoneofthemostimportantjourneysinancienttimes.Hisjourneyopenedthewayforwhathavebeenthoughttobethefirstindirectcontactsbetweentheancientworld’stwosuperpowersChinaandRome.ChinesesilkfirsttradedtocentralAsiantribesforwarhorsesandtotheParthiansofoldPersiainexchangeforacrobatsandostricheggswassoonfindingitswaythroughanetworkofmerchantstotheluxurymarketsofRome.
ButthenewdiscoveriesshowthatChinesesilkwasapparentlypresentintheWestlongbeforetheHanemperorstartedorganizedtradeovertheSilkRoad.TheresearchcouldchangethinkingabouttheearlyhistoryofworldtradeandprovideinsightsintothemysteryofjusthowandwhenEuropeandtheMediterraneanlandsfirstbecameawareofthegloriouscultureattheotherendofEurasia.
小题1:Theword“coupled”inthefirstparagraphcouldbestbereplacedby______.