By: Marshall Ramsey II
TARIM BASIN, China -- Earlier this year, archaeologists Ulrike Beck and Mayke Wagner from the German Archaeological Institute made an interesting discovery. Along with horse-riding equipment, such as a leather bridle, a wooden horse bit, and a decorated horse tail, and weapons such as a battle-ax and a bow sheath and bow, the two archaeologists also found two pair of wool trousers, or pants, with them. What is strange about that is that the bodies were dated between 3,000 and 3,300 years old.
Found in the Yanghai graveyard in Tarim Basin in China, the ancient wool trousers resemble modern riding pants, complete with straight-fitting legs and a wide crotch. The men who wore them are believed to be both horsemen and shepherds in their day, citing previous expeditions that suggested nomadic herders in Central Asia invented pants to provide bodily protection and freedom of movement for horseback journeys and mounted warfare, according to a May 22 report in Quaternary International.
"This new paper definitely supports the idea that trousers were invented for horse riding by mobile pastoralists, and that trousers were brought to the Tarim Basin by horse-riding peoples," remarks linguist and China authority Victor Mair of the University of Pennsylvania.
Earlier research on mummies from several Tarim Basin sites, led by Mair, identified a 2,600-year-old individual known as Cherchen Man who wore burgundy trousers probably made of wool. Trousers of Scythian nomads from West Asia date to roughly 2,500 years ago.
What is interesting about the pattern on the trousers is that they are reminiscent of both Native American and Mexican designs. The first photo shows the pants themselves:
Note the peculiar design at the crotch of the pants. Now compare them to a picture of a Native American rug:
Now compare the design across the knee with this one from Mexico:
Notice the similarities? This would suggest that the Native Americans and Oaxaca Mexicans had a common ancestry, one that was influenced by the Chinese. Further research is necessary to confirm this, but there is definitely a connection.
Source article: http://www.businessinsider.com/first-time-people-wore-pants-2014-5
TARIM BASIN, China -- Earlier this year, archaeologists Ulrike Beck and Mayke Wagner from the German Archaeological Institute made an interesting discovery. Along with horse-riding equipment, such as a leather bridle, a wooden horse bit, and a decorated horse tail, and weapons such as a battle-ax and a bow sheath and bow, the two archaeologists also found two pair of wool trousers, or pants, with them. What is strange about that is that the bodies were dated between 3,000 and 3,300 years old.
Found in the Yanghai graveyard in Tarim Basin in China, the ancient wool trousers resemble modern riding pants, complete with straight-fitting legs and a wide crotch. The men who wore them are believed to be both horsemen and shepherds in their day, citing previous expeditions that suggested nomadic herders in Central Asia invented pants to provide bodily protection and freedom of movement for horseback journeys and mounted warfare, according to a May 22 report in Quaternary International.
"This new paper definitely supports the idea that trousers were invented for horse riding by mobile pastoralists, and that trousers were brought to the Tarim Basin by horse-riding peoples," remarks linguist and China authority Victor Mair of the University of Pennsylvania.
Earlier research on mummies from several Tarim Basin sites, led by Mair, identified a 2,600-year-old individual known as Cherchen Man who wore burgundy trousers probably made of wool. Trousers of Scythian nomads from West Asia date to roughly 2,500 years ago.
What is interesting about the pattern on the trousers is that they are reminiscent of both Native American and Mexican designs. The first photo shows the pants themselves:
Note the peculiar design at the crotch of the pants. Now compare them to a picture of a Native American rug:
Now compare the design across the knee with this one from Mexico:
Notice the similarities? This would suggest that the Native Americans and Oaxaca Mexicans had a common ancestry, one that was influenced by the Chinese. Further research is necessary to confirm this, but there is definitely a connection.
Source article: http://www.businessinsider.com/first-time-people-wore-pants-2014-5
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