The geography of Central Asia has largely determined the production and trade of the macro-region.  Pastoral and settled communities produced very different goods to nomadic steppe communities, both in terms of agriculture and farming, and in terms of handicrafts and artefacts, and this has shaped the patterns of trade across these regions.

The survival of coins is the most direct means of access for the historian to the monetary systems of Central Asia in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. In northern parts of Central Asia, there were frequent monetary reforms under the Shaybanid and Janid dynasties. The minting of coins was also a powerful political symbol, as seen in the Kokand and Khiva khanates, the Bukhara emirate, and in Safavid Persia.

Knowledge of the food and clothing of medieval Central Asia is difficult to attain; it is only through sporadic mention in sources that we can accumulate a picture of the diet and dress of the people who lived in these regions.  Variations in climate, region, wealth and class all had a large effect on the daily lives and habits of the inhabitants of Central Asia, resulting in changing customs throughout Iran, Mongolia and Western China.

Food producing communities in Central Asia went through many important stages of development during the Neolithic period.  There is archaeological evidence to suggest that economic and sociological changes took place at different times over different areas, consisting principally of early settlement activity, plant and animal domestication and the employment of crafts.  Burial sites are also extremely important in our understanding of the societies of this period.

Zoroastrianism was a widespread religious cult in Bactria in the second century BC, in addition to continued adherence to ancient Greek religions and culture. Furthermore, the Saka and Kushan tribes arrived in this region with their own distinctive religions and divinities, and the conquest of India by the Kushan ruler, Vima Kadphises, introduced new religious influences, most notably Buddhism and the cult of Shiva.

The cultures and economies of the nomadic tribes of northern Asia had many common traits, simply as a result of the requirements of life on the Steppes.  Developments in farming technology in the Iron Age led these cultures to change, with crafts emerging such as pottery and weapons manufacturing. Livestock traditions also moved on, with stockbreeding becoming more specialized, and the development of bridles allowed large numbers of nomads to move quickly across large areas. 

The development of languages is a fluid process, and the emergence of linguistic identities in Central Asia from the second millennium BC does not disguise the fact that many of these languages were originally closely related.  Modern Indian languages descend from Pakrit and Sanscrit (among other ancient languages), whilst the languages spoken in Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan stem from Middle Iranian languages, including Middle Persian, Sogdian, Parthian and many others.  

The Kushan Age (the first to the fourth century AD) was a time of great innovation for the economy of Central Asia. Developments were made in irrigation, crop-raising and breeding, building and handicrafts. Trade and commerce also flourished, and the Silk Routes became an increasingly important part of economic and cultural life, whilst coinage from this time serves as an indication of the political structure of the Kushan Empire. 

The literature of Turkic and Mongolian traditions was intended to inspire courteous behavior and a sense of morality to younger generations; it is thus inextricably linked to their oral and epic historical traditions.  The Turkic societies that lived in urban settlements thus developed different literary cultures to those of the steppes and mountains. Similarly, Mongolian literary culture varied depending on the social conditions and cultural traditions of Inner Mongolia, Kalmukia and Buriatia.