I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. There are several sources. For purposes of this discussion, I'm leaving out mention of the more typical fabric one thinks of when discussing pile-weave, which is a rug.
Piled fabrics are nothing new.
There are fragments of piled fabrics extant from Neolithic Swiss villages and 5th Dynasty Egypt. This particular book is a catalog from a massive museum exhibit that started in Paris in 1992, then traveled to Berlin and Copenhagen. This type of material, dyed in different colors, was also used as a substitute for fur by the less wealthy for various garments, and as trimmings around the hem or neck. The 'fur' is often of a different color from the rest of the garment. The piece is described as a piece of cloth with an unusually heavy nap.