page_title: Silk in the Indian subcontinent
section_title: The Silk Road
hierarchical_section_title: Silk in the Indian subcontinent / History / The Silk Road
caption_attribution_description: English: i took this photo on a trip along the 'Southern Silk Route' in Khotan in 2011
context_page_description: Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury good. In India, about 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in the five Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. Mysore and North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a US$20 million "Silk City", contribute to a majority of silk production. Another emerging silk producer is Tamil Nadu where mulberry cultivation is concentrated in Salem, Erode and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units.
context_section_description: Recent archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Chanhu-daro suggest that sericulture, employing wild silk threads from native silkworm species, existed in South Asia during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization dating between 2450 BC and 2000 BC, while evidence for silk production in China back to around 2570 BC and earlier. The Indus silks were obtained from more than one species Antheraea and Philosamia (eri silk). Antheraea assamensis and A. mylitta were widely used. These findings were published in the journal Archaeometry by archaeologists from Harvard University who examined the silk fibre excavated from two Indus valley cities of Harappa and Chanhudaro. The fibres were dated to around 2450–2000 BCE and were processed using similar techniques of degumming and reeling as that of the Chinese. Scanning electron micrographs of the fibre revealed that some fibres were spun after the silk moth was allowed to escape from the cocoon, similar to the ahimsa silk promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. Nevasa in 1500 BC also provides evidence of silk weaving, Arthashastra written around 4th century BC mentions a guild of silk weavers. Gupta inscriptions also mention this guild. Most of the silk was exported using Indian ocean trade and India was a major silk exporter during the Gupta periods. Romans imported all of their silk from India but Persians created a monopoly of the Indian silk trade hence Byzantine empire sought Silk route to not only import silk but introduce silk weaving in Western Asia and Europe.
caption: Weaving silk in Khotan, on the 'Southern Silk Road' 2011
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