World’s oldest pants was made through three weaving techniques; Read on

Prior to the discovery of a mummified cadaver wearing the world’s oldest trousers in the 1970s, a group of archaeologists, chemists, fashion designers, geoscientists, and conservators have finally deciphered how those pants were made. Archaeologist and project director Mayke Wagner of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin believes the garment was one-of-a-kind. He said, ‘A diversity of textile techniques and patterns of different local origins, traditions and times merged into something new in this garment’.

Herders and horse riders are thought to have been buried at the Yanghai graveyard in the Trim Basin. They were the first to use a combination of weaving and sewing to made trousers approximately 3,200 to 3,000 years ago. Researchers believe that the ornamental patterns on the garment mirrored influences from several cultures across Eurasia, as per a study published in Science Direct.

According to the new study, the weavers utilised a unique blend of three weaving processes, which was discovered after a detailed analysis. It was also found that much of the clothing was made of twill weave, which is considered a key textile breakthrough in history.

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The Turfan Man’s pants demonstrate how ancient herders transported their cultures, knowledge, and traditions across Asia. Wagner’s team pointed out that the interlocking pattern seen on the pants at the knee is also found on bronze vessels discovered in what is now China. A stepped pyramid design of the Yanghai pants may also be found on ceramics from the Petrovka civilization of Central Asia. The pyramid pattern is also reminiscent of Middle Eastern and southern architectural styles. Furthermore, the tapestry weaving on the Turfan Man’s pant has linkages to these cultures.

The cosmopolitan trousers of Turfan Man illustrate that nomadic herders transported creative ideas and different cultural practices to distant regions even in the early stages of the Silk Road. The pants, according to Michael Frachetti, an anthropologist at Washington University, are ‘an entry point for examining how Silk Road transformed the world’.