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=What is silk? - Module 10/11=

For hundreds of years, Central Asia was the primary region through which many different kinds of valuable goods traveled east and west. Probably the most notable of these goods was the fabric known as silk. Silk is essentially the woven fibrous material produced by a particular type of moth larva that lives on mulberry plants. When the silkworm (Bombyx mori) is in the larval stage, it makes a cocoon for itself to transform into a moth. These cocoons are then harvested and woven by humans to create silk.

**A collection of picked silk cocoons.** The first evidence of silk cultivation dates back some 6,000 years ago in China. As its popularity grew in ancient China, laws had to be enacted to restrict the wearing of silk to only the Imperial family and other very highly ranked personages. The production of silk had been a well-kept secret by the Chinese up until a few hundred years BCE when it was leaked to neighboring countries. Examples of this fine product reached places as far away as the Roman Empire and soon there was a great global demand for the good. In the second century AD, China finally opened up a trade route westward to export silk. This route started in China, went through Central Asia and then ended in Anatolia. These routes are now known collectively as The Silk Road.

Silk in modern times
Today silk is still a highly sought after material for crafting elegant pieces of clothing from. While China is still the largest producer of silk, it no longer has the complete monopoly over its production like it did in ancient times. Countries like India and Japan are now major producers of the material. In times past, silk was very expensive and generally only available to nobility or the very wealthy. Silk is still not the cheapest material but it is definitely within the reach of the average person. Fashion designers often choose the material when designing new clothes.

**A silk garment.**

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