A historian claims that the Silk Road was not a single fixed route but a shifting network of trade paths whose specific paths changed in response to political and environmental conditions.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the historian's claim?
- A
Several modern cities lie along ancient trade routes.
- Bcheck_circle
Records and material remains show that traders took different routes across Central Asia in different centuries, depending on which empires were powerful and where water sources were reliable.
- C
Some traders along the Silk Road kept detailed account books.
- D
Silk and other valuable goods were traded between China and the Mediterranean for over a thousand years.
Explanation
A directly demonstrates path variation responding to political and environmental conditions, supporting the network thesis. B, C, and D do not address path variability.