Fascinating Katherine... tyvm.

The constantly growing evidence that trade existed from the earliest;
that trade routes were workable long before routes were capable of having armies survive...
that rivers were the mother of all highways...
that trade itself may have generated political power and force in it's varied guises...
all suggest to me that trade could be seen as the germinative force behind much of prehistory.

I can easily see traders as the conduit for advances as in
"You won't believe what they're doing yonder now, they MELT copper and pour for tools rather than beat it! By the way, not interested in buying any lumps of copper, are you?"

I'll bet the first wine peddler was relativly as rich as Bill Gates is today

Jammer