When do ghosts come into being? In the modern Global North, we see death as something separate from daily life. Today’s death rites tend to be simple, focused on the individual, and usually take place in hospitals or funeral homes. We often treat death as the absolute end of a person’s life. There’s a popular belief that cultures where ghosts and ancestors are important—where the line between life and death isn’t so rigid—are less “modern.” This talk will explore how the line between life and death shifted with globalization along the African Silk Road, challenging the idea that ancestor worship or ghosts are just holdovers from simpler times.