murex shell, found off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria. Th is
region became known as Phoenicia, or “purple land,” and its
towns grew rich selling murex dye to Greeks, Romans, and
other wealthy individuals; the town of Tyre was especially
known for this color, which was oft en called Tyrian purple.
To create the dye, fi shermen collected thousands of the snails,
cracked their shells, and dug out the veins that contained a
purple mucus. It took nearly 9,000 snails to create one ounce of
Tyrian purple dye, which cost more than its weight in gold.
Aft er dyeing, the next step was to weave the thread into
cloth on a loom. Early Middle Eastern looms were vertical
frames on which weavers would stretch parallel threads to
form the warp of the cloth. Th e weavers would then weave
other threads through the warp, creating the horizontal fi -
bers called the weft. Th e fi rst looms had no mechanism for
separating individual warp threads to create a space for the
weaver to place the weft , but very quickly people discovered
that it was easier to weave cloth if they used a rod to lift
half the fi bers at a time. Weavers wrapped the weft threads
around a wooden block called the shuttle, which they could
pass from hand to hand through the warp, and they used
another rod to push the weft fi rmly together aft er each pass.
By varying thread colors, weavers could create elaborate pat-
terns in their cloth.
Ancient people throughout the Middle East decorated
their cloth with embroidery. Persia, Babylonia, Phoenicia,
Syria, and Israel were especially known for their embroidery.
Embroiderers adorned cloth with traditional motifs; Per-
sian decorations were known for being particularly ornate.Groups developed their own unique embroidery patterns,
many of which had ritual signifi cance such as warding off evil
or bringing good luck to a bride.
Carpet weaving is believed to have originated as early
as 7000 b.c.e. in central Asia, where nomads wove carpets to
create warm, soft , easily portable fl oors for their tents. Car-
pet making spread from central Asia into Anatolia and Per-
sia. Anatolians were among the fi rst Near Eastern people to
weave carpets. Th ey invented a double-knotted style of carpet
weaving between the fourth and fi rst centuries b.c.e. Village
women carded and dyed their own wool and invented pat-
terns that told stories as well as being decorative. Each group
had distinctive designs. Mothers taught daughters how to
weave carpets so that the young women could include them
in their dowries and then produce more as married women.
Carpet weaving was also important in Persia. People living
on the Iranian plateau were knotting wool carpets by 500
b.c.e., though the art may have begun much earlier. Persian
carpets depicted mythical events, objects from nature, or
geometric patterns.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY JUSTIN CORFIELD AND MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
A wide range of textiles was used throughout ancient Asia
and the Pacifi c, from elaborate silk and brocade (fabric with
raised patterns) to coarse hemp. Very little material from this
period survives, but much of it that does survive is silk and
other more expensive cloths found in tombs dating from the
Han Dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) and also outside China.
However, much can be surmised from drawings, carvings,
and statues of the period as well as from the small fragments
of other materials that have been found by archaeologists.
Th e material used in China and nearby places for clothes
was associated with three traditional styles of dress: the pien-
fu, the ch’ang-p’ao, and the shen-i. Th e pien-fu was a two-piece
ceremonial costume with a tunic, and underneath a skirt or
trousers. Th e ch’ang-p’ao was a garment made up from one
piece that covered the body from head to toe, and the shen-i
essentially was a blend of the other two styles, usually with a
pien-fu sewed together.
In China the most prized material was silk, which seems
to have been used from about 3000 b.c.e. It was produced not
only for use within China but also for export to other places,
giving rise to the “Silk Road,” as the major land trade route
from China to Europe became known in ancient times. Silk
served as a medium of exchange for the Chinese, and it ap-
pears that a large silk industry emerged in Persia and Syria,
where dyeing and weaving took place. Some silk fabrics from
the Han Dynasty have been found in tombs in Palmyra, Syria,
dating from 83 to 273 c.e., where they were known as “dam-
asks in Han weave.” Similar material has been found in parts
of central Asia, the Crimea, and other places along the Silk
Road, indicating a fl ourishing trade. Besides being traded,
silk was also given as presents to tribal chiefs loyal to ChinaWool textile fragment from Persepolis, Persia (modern-day
Iran) (Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)1078 textiles and needlework: Asia and the Pacific0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1078 1078 10/10/07 2:30:59 PM