Oldest evidence of patterned silk loom found in China
The technology fed the Silk Road trade
By Bruce Bower
An ancient tomb in southern China has provided the oldest known examples, in scaled-down form, of revolutionary weaving machines called pattern looms. Four immobile models of pattern looms illuminate how weavers first produced silk textiles with repeating patterns. The cloths were traded across Eurasia via the Silk Road, Chinese archaeologists report in the April Antiquity. The models, created between 2,200 and 2,100 years ago, predate other evidence of pattern looms by several hundred years.
Red and brown silk threads still clung to the model looms. The largest stood half a meter tall. A reconstruction of that model includes two foot pumps connected to beams, shafts and other parts. A full-scale device with moving parts would have woven repeating geometric designs on clothing and other items made of silk, a technique that transformed the textile’s production.