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According to Archaeology, in 2014 the excavation of a tomb in Tarim Basin in western China revealed the mummy
of a man wearing trousers. Found alongside an axe, possibly indicating warrior status, the man became known as
the Turfan Man. Using radio carbon dating and further scientific analysis, the aforementioned dates were deduced.
Since men and women primarily wore skirts and capes, the possibility that these pants were considered for horse
riding was drawn.
“They show an unprecedented diversity and a free combination of three weaving techniques and one type of weft
twining supplemented by at least three different braiding methods to finish and fasten the clothes,” write the authors
of the study. This variety of techniques used to make the trousers emerged from the mobility that pastoralists and
herders were accustomed to – they would have to move place to place, and picked up new and different techniques
from across the diverse Asian continent, which were then used to make the garments.
Detail of the crotch area of the ancient trousers discovered in China’s Tarim Basin. (M. Wagner / Quarternary
International )
The other textile method evidenced in the oldest trousers in the world is called tapestry, used to create a thicker
piece of material at the knees. In this method, weaving colored weft threads are passed through plain warp threads.
The warp threads are stretched on a loom and act as a grid for weavers to create a pattern with the colored weft
threads, with wool as the material generally used. The Victoria and Albert Museum claims that it is one of the
oldest forms of woven textile – used for tunics and purses, to table covers and chair backs.
The Turfan Man’s outfit consisted of the aforementioned trousers, a poncho used as a belt at the waist, a single pair
of bands braided to tighten the trousers legs below the knee area, and another pair to tighten soft leather boots in the
ankle area. With this, a wool headband was also found on his person. It had four bronze disks and two seashells
sewn on it, along with a leather bridle, a wooden horse bit and a battle axe, that helped deduce his warrior status.
Front view of the world’s oldest trousers discovered to date. (M. Wagner / Quarternary International )
Today’s denim jeans and dress slack also owe a lot to the design, technique, and production principles of this era.
What is increasingly clear from the study of independent finds from the Eurasian steppe from 3,750 and 3,000 years
ago, is that these Asian herders spread the seeds of innovation in fashion, deduced by looking at similar geometric
patterns.
For example, an interlocking T pattern on the Turfan Man’s trousers was also found on bronze vessels across China
from 3,300 years ago. Pottery from western Siberia and Kazakhstan displays a similar pattern. This is an ode to the
transformative power of the ancient Silk Road , which allowed for such cross-continental transfers of cultural and
technological innovation. Further research and excavation is likely to reveal greater cultural similarities shared
between ancient human societies of yesteryear.
Top image: The so-called world’s oldest trousers discovered in China’s Tarim Basin used different textile techniques
for different parts of the trouser fabric