The history of silk turned out to be almost two thousand years longer

The discovery suggests that silk production technology reached Central Asia almost two thousand years earlier than scientists had previously thought. If these findings are confirmed, the history of the spread of sericulture and early links between East and Central Asia will have to be revised.

Cocoons older than the Silk Road itself

For a long time, it was thought that knowledge of silk production began to spread from China alongside the formation of the Great Silk Road during the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire.

However, new discoveries point to much earlier contacts.

During Bronze Age excavations at the Sapallitepa site in southern Uzbekistan, archaeologists discovered three well-preserved silkworm cocoons. The arid climate allowed them to remain almost intact.

The researchers extracted silk fibres from the cocoons, carried out radiocarbon dating and confirmed that they belonged to the domestic silkworm Bombyx mori — the very same species that was domesticated in Ancient China.

The find dates back to around 2000 BC, that is, approximately four thousand years ago.

This is not just silk, but an entire technology

According to the authors of the study, the most important point is that this is not a piece of fabric that happened to be brought there by chance.

The domestic silkworm cannot survive in the wild without human intervention. To produce silk, it is necessary to simultaneously rear the insects, cultivate mulberry trees and possess the knowledge required to care for the larvae.

Therefore, the cocoons found indicate the transfer of an entire technology, rather than merely the trade in finished products.

Other evidence was also found

The cocoons were by no means the only discovery.

Archaeologists also discovered:

• charcoal from white mulberry trees — the main food source for domestic silkworms;
• remains of citrus trees;
• a previously discovered fragment of fabric produced using a method characteristic of Chinese sericulture.

According to the researchers, all these finds together paint a convincing picture of the existence of sericulture in the region as early as the Bronze Age.

Perhaps silk arrived by a different route

Another unexpected conclusion concerns the route by which the technology spread.

The authors believe that sericulture may well have reached Central Asia not via the northern mountain routes, which later became part of the Great Silk Road.

The presence of mulberry trees and citrus fruits may point to earlier connections via the Himalayan region and South Asia.

If this hypothesis is confirmed, our understanding of the earliest trade and cultural contacts in Eurasia will have to be substantially revised.

Why the tradition subsequently disappeared

The most puzzling aspect is that the early arrival of Chinese sericulture did not lead to the establishment of a sustainable local tradition.

Later, other types of silk—tussar, eri and muga—became widespread in South Asia; these are produced not by domestic silkworms but by other species of moth.

Scientists are as yet unable to explain why the Bombyx mori technique did not take root in the region.

Further evidence of early globalisation

The authors of the study believe that the cocoons found add to the growing body of evidence that the inhabitants of Eurasia began actively exchanging technologies long before the emergence of the Great Silk Road.

Archaeologists had previously demonstrated the early spread of wheat, barley, millet, domesticated animals and metallurgical technologies between China, Central and South Asia.

Silk production has now been added to this list.

In essence, this represents a new form of ancient globalisation that existed as far back as four thousand years ago.

Why this is important

The discovery provides, for the first time, direct archaeological evidence that Chinese technology for rearing domesticated silkworms reached Central Asia much earlier than previously thought.

This changes our understanding not only of the history of silk, but also of the extent of cultural and technological links between Bronze Age civilisations.

Source

Study: Silkworm cultivation predating the Silk Road in southern Central Asia (2000 BCE).

Authors: Xinying Zhou et al.

Journal: Science Advances.

Year: 2026.