1media/silkworms.png_thumb.jpg2021-12-13T17:44:20-08:00Christopher Smith598dd072cb4e8bd3059d173bfcefda25b5e50a98394471Silkworm and Silkworm Farmplain2021-12-13T17:44:20-08:00Christopher Smith598dd072cb4e8bd3059d173bfcefda25b5e50a98
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12021-11-03T13:50:33-07:00When was this made?14plain2022-09-15T06:46:00-07:00By Christopher Smith '22
The textile is thought to have been made between the 7th and 9th centuries. We have a distinct indicator for the beginning of the time range, which is that it is a weft-faced textile. This pattern for weaves was introduced to Central Asia from China via the Silk Road in the early 7th century. In locating the end of the time range, we try to link this textile to other textual records, such as to industries, and comparisons with other textiles.
The textile, being made of silk (from silkworms), is organic material, so it can be carbon dated. This silk has not been carbon dated yet, but if it had been, we would have a more accurate time interval. For instance, by using the half-life of the carbon-14 isotope and measuring its quantity in a strand of the textile, we can get a confidence interval of ~95% for a range of ~100 years, and a lesser ~60% confidence interval for a range of ~30 years for example.
