Nepali textile find suggests Silk Road extended further south than previously thought

EurekAlert! ^ | April 1, 2016 | University of Cambridge

[SunkenCiv]

The first results of textile and dye analyses of cloth dated between 400-650 AD and recovered from Samdzong 5, in Upper Mustang, Nepal have today been released by Dr Margarita Gleba of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.

Identification of degummed silk fibres and munjeet and Indian lac dyes in the textile finds suggests that imported materials from China and India were used in combination with those locally produced. Says Gleba: "There is no evidence for local silk production suggesting that Samdzong was inserted into the long-distance trade network of the Silk Road."

"The data reinforce the notion that instead of being isolated and remote, Upper Mustang was once a small, but important node of a much larger network of people and places." ...

The cloth remains are of further significance as very few contemporary textile finds are known from Nepal. The dry climate and high altitude of the Samdzong tomb complex, at an elevation of 4000 m, favoured the exceptional preservation of the organic materials.

One of the cloth objects recovered is composed of wool fabrics to which copper, glass and cloth beads are attached. It was found near a coffin of an adult along with a spectacular gold/silver funerary mask. The mask has small pinholes around its edges, suggesting it had been sewn to a fabric, and probably constitutes the remains of a complex, decorative headwear.

Samdzong 5 is one of ten shaft tombs excavated by Mark Aldenderfer, (University of California Merced and Visiting Scholar of the McDonald Institute). The tombs were only exposed to view in 2009 following a seismic event that calved off the façade of the cliff, having been originally carved out in prehistory from the soft conglomerate rock of a massive cliff face.

[SunkenCiv]

This is a gold/silver mask believed to cover the face of the adult in the coffin of the Samdzong 5 tomb complex, Upper Mustang, Nepal. [Credit M. Aldenderfer]

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks. I'd never heard of the "Upper Mustang" region of Nepal. Wikipedia --> Mustang (from the Tibetan möntang (Wylie: smon-thang), Nepali: मुस्तांग "fertile plain"), formerly Kingdom of Lo, is a remote and isolated region of the Nepalese Himalayas. The Upper Mustang was a restricted demilitarized area until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional Tibetic languages. Tibetan culture has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world.

Sounds like a wonderful place to put on one's bucket list.

I was listening to the history of chromatography on the "In Our Time" podcast last week. The host, Melvyn Bragg, mentioned a book he was reading that discussed dyes around the time of these fragments. An illuminated manuscript in Europe had 90 different colors in it, all originating from plant dyes. It is remarkable how these people used intuitive chemistry to separate colors from pigments.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Silk Route keyword, sorted:

• First 'Silk Road' Train Arrives in Tehran From China [2016]
• China's Pakistan-occupied Kashmir tunnels ring alarm bells for India [2015]
• Does Celtic art have links with Asia? [2015]
• The bitcoin drug baron: Mother thought her 'gentle son' was making video games on his laptop... [2015]
• How Government Stifled Reason's Free Speech [2015]
• Silk Road Creator Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Doing What We Pay the Russians to Do [2015]
• Department Of Justice Uses Grand Jury Subpoena To Identify Anonymous Commenters ... [2015]
• The founder of the Silk Road drug marketplace has been sentenced to life in prison without parole [2015]
• Rats reprieved as giant gerbils are blamed for the Black Death [2015]
• Mani and the Persian Kings [2015]
• Former Plumber Gets 4 Years for Silk Road Connections [2015]
• Tuberculosis genomes track human history [2015]
• 10 Mysterious Underwater Cities You Haven't Heard Of [2014]
• FBI Arrests SpaceX Employee, Alleging He Ran The 'Deep Web' Drug Marketplace Silk Road 2.0 [2014]
• ilk Road's Dread Pirate Roberts won't be getting his case dismissed [2014]
• U.S. Marshals accidentally leak potential Bitcoin bidders list [2014]
• Bitcoin: more than just the currency of digital vice [2014]
• Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk Road, study finds [2014]
• Ancient mummies found buried with world's oldest cheese [2014]
• Silk Road 2.0 'Hack' Blamed On Bitcoin Bug, All Funds Stolen [2014]
• Bitcoin is the future, Money2020 delegates told [2014]
• Eagle Scout. Idealist. Drug Trafficker? [2014]
• US Government Announces it Will Sell $25m Worth of Silk Road Bitcoins [2014]
• FBI seizes 'Silk Road' black market domain, arrests owner [2013]
• Archaeological finds reveal prehistoric civilization along Silk Road [2013]
• Ancient Tombs Discovered Along Silk Road [2013]
• Cultural heritage: Takht Bhai offers a glimpse of life under Kanishka {Kushan Empire} [2012]
• The 'Islamic Art' Hoax [2012]
• Scholarly world abuzz over Jewish scrolls find [ Afghanistan ] [2011]
• What if China, India and Europe would construct a new "Silk Road"? [2011]
• Chinese Christians aim to evangelize Muslim world [2011]
• Big noses, curly hair on empress's coffin suggests deep cultural exchange on Silk Road [2010]
• Turkmen capital is 8 thousand years old, archeologists say [2010]
• Researchers may know identity of ancient town in Xinjiang ["the mysterious town of Zhubin"] [2010]
• Syria in China's New Silk Road Strategy [2010]
• Pamir Mountains, the Crossroads of History [2009]
• Rethinking silk's origins [2009]
• Digging In The Desert (Turkmenistan) [2008]
• China faces Muslim resentment in west (from Uighurs and dissidents) [2008]
• Tibet isn't China's only problem, resentment still simmers among Muslims in Xinjiang [2008]
• China/Uyghur: Group says Chinese police arrest 70 in Xinjiang [2008]
• China and India Go to Africa [2008]
• Desertification Threatens Ancient Chinese Town [Dunhuang] [2007]
• China: Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb (a buried step-pyramid?) [2007]
• European Man Found in Ancient Chinese Tomb, Study Reveals [2007]
• What Traveled From West to East? (Christianity in the Chinese-speaking world) [2007]
• Ancient Vishnu idol found in Russian town [2007]
• Chinese Archaeologists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Leather Shoes [2006]
• Pakistan, Afghanistan bicker over India gateway [2006]
• New Evidence Suggests Longer Paper Making History In China [2006]
• Opening Of Silk Road Weaves India Closer To China [2006]
• Stones indicate earlier Christian link? (Possible Christians in China in 1st Century AD) [2005]
• Ancient Porcelain Clue To Maritime Silk Road [2005]
• China's miracle in the desert is drying up [2005]
• CHRISTIANS AMONG MONGOL INVADERS (of Japan) [2005]
• Scientists Discover Ancient Sea Wharf (Marine Silk Road) [2004]
• Nestorian Tablet in China [2004]
• Caves Hold Clue To The Riddle Of The Three Hares [2004]
• Silk painting, brassiere unearthed from ancient tombs in N. China(1,000 year-old golden brassiere) [2004]
• Syria -- Archaeological Finding (80K Year Old Human Sites) [2004]
• Heavenly Wonder Of Ancient China Goes On Show (1,300 Year-Old Star-Chart) [2004]
• Discoveries Reveal A Flourishing Dunhuang 1,000 Years Ago [2004]
• Multiplication Table From 1,800 Years Ago Discovered In Hunan [2004]
• Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Maritime Spice Route Between India, Egypt [2004]
• Bricks With Molded Designs Unearthed In Chongqing (Caucasians in Ancient China) [2004]
• Siberian Graveyard's Secret (More Redheads) [2004]
• Scientists May Have Solved the Secret of Silk [2003]
• Flashman's Revenge: Central Asia after September 11 [2003]
• Silk Road Paved With Christian Tradition (1,500 Y.O. Church In Western China) [2002]
• Archaeologists Find Silk Road Equal [2002]
• Chronological History of Afghanistan [2001]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, I was wondering about that name. :’)

[colorado tanker]

Mustang is north of the Annapurnas and is geologically and meteorologically more like Tibet.

It's not as isolated as it once was. The popular Annapurna Trek goes through Lower Mustang. There is regular air service between Jomosom and Pokhara, a beautiful town at the base of the Annapurnas.

[colorado tanker]

I was also going to comment the find is not surprising in that an ancient caravan route goes through Mustang. You can still see Yak caravans going up and down the valley.

But it's a real stretch to say the Silk Road passed anywhere near Mustang. Both branches of the Road steered clear of Tibet.

[SunkenCiv]

Thx.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Another great recent “In Our Time” podcast talked about the history of the Dutch East India Company. It was interesting that the development of navigation and larger ships led to the demise of the overland routes. The episode included a fascinating discussion about the spice trade and a variety of circular trade required to get the gold and silver the Chinese wanted. They thought that nothing else from the West was worth anything to them.

[colorado tanker]

Pretty much what they still think, isn't it?

Well, except for the technology they steal.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)