Textiles & Craft
Wild silk in the Indus Civilisation
c. 2450-2000 BCEIndus artisansThread fragments from Harappa and ChanhudaroIndus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
2,450 BCE
Silk fibres from native wild silk moths (Antheraea) found inside Indus ornaments, the earliest silk known outside China.
- Dated
- 2,450–2,000 BCE
- As scholars put it
- c. 2450-2000 BCE
- Originator
- Indus artisans
- Source text
- Thread fragments from Harappa and Chanhudaro
- Region
- Indus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
- Discipline
- Textiles & Craft
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Verified-web
Meanwhile in the West
Roughly contemporary with the earliest Chinese silk.
Fair to say
These are thread fragments, not woven cloth; China's domesticated Bombyx silk tradition is distinct.
Path to modern innovation
Overturns the assumption that only China knew silk this early.
Transmission
Independent use of local wild silk.
References
- 1Good, Kenoyer & Meadow, Archaeometry 51(3) (2009)
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-227 on GitHub.