Final answer:
Ancient western trades involved gift exchange, credit, and debt systems, with goods like salt being essential early on. The introduction of coinage revolutionized trade, leading to economic growth and the establishment of marketplaces. Foreign goods and raw materials, often involving trade routes like the Silk Roads, were crucial for the prosperity of empires.
Step-by-step explanation:
Good trades in ancient western times encompassed a variety of systems and goods, adapted to the societal norms and available resources of the period. Trade was not limited to simple barter; it included complex relationships involving gift exchange, redistribution, and frameworks of credit and debt. Early on, commodities like salt served as essential goods for trade due to their necessity in preservation and sustenance. Societies engaged in mutually beneficial trade arrangements, with items changing hands several times along trade routes such as the Silk Roads.
With the introduction of coinage in the sixth century BCE, the concept of a standard currency began to shape the trade landscape, simplifying transactions and fostering market economies. The agora became the central marketplace in city-states, enabling the growth of trade and economic expansion. Additionally, the pursuit of foreign resources shaped imperial strategies, as empires in the Near East and beyond sought essential materials like stone, timber, and metals from distant locales, believing trade and commerce to be vital to their prosperity.