Quote Originally Posted by Homo Sapiens
My friend and I were talking about these today, and how even though popular belief holds that ancient societies were very inverted, when it is actually quite the opposite. I know of the Silk Route, the Amber Route, the Tin Route that the Carthaginians used, and the trans-Saharan caravans transporting gold, ivory and slaves. My friend also claimed there was a Cinnimon Route, across the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Madagascar. Is there any evidence to support this claim? And have I missed any other main trade routes?
Yes, there is reasonably good evidence for that Cinnamon Route. There are references in some classical source or another (could look it up for you, if you are really interested) and you also have the fact that Madagascar, being so close to the African coast is actually inhabitted by peoples of Malay ancestry speaking languages of the Malay group. We'd be talking here of large flotillas of Malay outrigger canoes that would ride the monsoons for the trip.