[mcq] Cowrie shells from the Maldives were used as currency across a vast trade network. To which of the foll…

Question

[mcq] Cowrie shells from the Maldives were used as currency across a vast trade network. To which of the following regions did these shells travel, serving as a medium of exchange?
((A)) China and West Africa
((B)) Europe and South America
((C)) Central Asia and Australia
((D)) The Mediterranean and Scandinavia

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer **(B) China and East Africa** According to the textbook, cowrie shells from the Maldives found their way to **China and East Africa** over more than a millennium. Source: *The Making of a Global World*, Section 1 – The Pre-modern World --- ## Explanation The passage explicitly states: *"cowries…from the Maldives found their way to China and East Africa."* This is a direct factual recall question. Note that the options in the question stem (A–D) differ from the answer options (A–D) given below — always match against the actual answer choices provided. The correct answer choice here is **B: China and East Africa**.

Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question