<P> The earliest evidence of silk was found at the sites of Yangshao culture in Xia County , Shanxi , where a silk cocoon was found cut in half by a sharp knife , dating back to between 4000 and 3000 BC . The species was identified as Bombyx mori , the domesticated silkworm . Fragments of primitive loom can also be seen from the sites of Hemmed culture in Yuyao , Zhejiang , dated to about 4000 BC . The earliest example of silk fabric is from 3630 BC , and was used as wrapping for the body of a child . The fabric comes from a Yangshao site in Qingtaicun at Rongyang , Henan . Scraps of silk were found in a Liangzhu culture site at Qianshanyang in Huzhou , Zhejiang , dating back to 2700 BC . Other fragments have been recovered from royal tombs in the Shang Dynasty ( c. 1600 -- c. 1046 BCE ) . </P>
<P> The earliest evidence of silk was found at the sites of Yangshao culture in Xia County , Shanxi , where a silk cocoon was found cut in half by a sharp knife , dating back to between 4000 and 3000 BC . The species was identified as Bombyx mori , the domesticated silkworm . Fragments of primitive loom can also be seen from the sites of Hemmed culture in Yuyao , Zhejiang , dated to about 4000 BC . The earliest example of silk fabric is from 3630 BC , and was used as wrapping for the body of a child . The fabric comes from a Yangshao site in Qingtaicun at Rongyang , Henan . Scraps of silk were found in a Liangzhu culture site at Qianshanyang in Huzhou , Zhejiang , dating back to 2700 BC . Other fragments have been recovered from royal tombs in the Shang Dynasty ( c. 1600 -- c. 1046 BCE ) . </P>
when did silk begin to be produced in china
when did silk begin to be produced in china
4000 and 3000 BC
4000 and 3000 BC