Archaeologists have announced that they have found the earliest known evidence of silkworm cultivation outside of China, according to a report circulated by China on Google News. The discovery, highlighted in Archaeology Magazine, suggests that the practice of raising silkworms for silk production began in another region of Asia earlier than previously documented.
The report notes that the findings were made at an archaeological site that yielded remnants of silkworms and associated textile processing tools, indicating intentional rearing and silk production. While the exact location and dating details are not specified in the brief, the discovery is significant because all earlier documented evidence of silkworm breeding has been confined to China. This new data expands the known geographical spread of ancient silk industry practices. No direct quotations from the researchers are available in the source provided.
Silk production is traditionally regarded as a Chinese cultural heritage that played a pivotal role in the Silk Roads trade network. Evidence of early silkworm cultivation outside China challenges the prevailing narrative of China as the sole origin of silk manufacturing and hints at a more widespread diffusion of the technology during antiquity.