Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t12.2

v1.c5.s2.t12.2

Silk is produced by unravelling the filament of the cocoon spun by certain species of moth which is then woven to produce silk cloth. Although Chinese silk has, from antiquity, been the home of the finest domesticated and processed silk, the technique of producing raw silk from a number of wild species of moth has been known to many other societies including India. For instance, recent studies have revealed the presence of silk in sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation in present-day Pakistan. Dating back to the 3ʳᵈ millennium BCE, this is the earliest evidence of silk outside China.