Globalization Has Been Happening for a Long Time

Apparently some Roman artifacts were found in a 5th-century CE Japanese tomb:

Researchers from Japan’s Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties announced Friday that three glass beads recovered from a Fifth Century burial site near Kyoto bear signs of Roman craftsmanship. This suggests that Roman influence reached as far as East Asia.

“They are one of the oldest multilayered glass products found in Japan, and very rare accessories that were believed to be made in the Roman Empire and sent to Japan,” researcher Tomomi Tamura told AFP.

Six thousand miles was a long way for goods to travel back then. Our innate tendency to truck and barter, as Adam Smith put it, is very strong indeed.