Chrysalis Carving Offers Clues to Ancient Silk Production

News July 18, 2022

SHARE:

SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA—Xinhua reports that a one-inch-long stone carving of a silkworm chrysalis has been found in northern China, in a 5,200-year-old burial attributed to the Yangshao culture. “At present, many silkworm cocoons and chrysalises discovered in Yuncheng City have been found in good condition, indicating that the ancestors of Yangshao Culture in southern Shanxi had raised silkworms,” said Tian Jianwen of the Shanxi Province Archaeology Research Institute. The carving will offer clues to the study of the origin and spread of silk, Tian explained. To read about the oldest silk fibers ever found in an archaeological context, go to "World Roundup: China."

  • Features May/June 2022

    Secrets of Scotland's Viking Age Hoard

    A massive cache of Viking silver and Anglo-Saxon heirlooms reveals the complex political landscape of ninth-century Britain

    Read Article
    (National Museums Scotland)
  • Letter from the Bay Area May/June 2022

    California's Coastal Homelands

    How Native Americans defied Spanish missionaries and preserved their way of life

    Read Article
  • Artifacts May/June 2022

    Greek Curse Pot

    Read Article
    (Craig Mauzy/Athenian Agora Excavations)
  • Digs & Discoveries May/June 2022

    Cradle of the Graves

    Read Article
    (Vita/Alamy Stock Photo)