Silk
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Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven or knitted into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and a smaller coating of sericin. It is most commonl
Raw silk of domesticated silk worms, showing its natural shine
Four of the most important domesticated silk moths. Top to bottom: B. mori, Hyalophora cecropia, Antheraea pernyi, Samia cynthia. From Meyers Konversations-Lexikon (1885–1892)
Rearing of wild Eri silk worm, Assam
Woven silk textile from tomb no 1. at Mawangdui in China, from the Han dynasty, 2nd century BC
In the mid-6th century CE, two monks, with the support of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I, acquired and smuggled living silkworms into the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, which led to
The Silk Road
Silkworms
Byzantine silk