Two pairs of 3,300-year-old trousers found in China's far western Xinjiang region may be the world's oldest, state-media reported on Friday, June 6, 2014. |
Two pairs of 3,300-year-old trousers found in China's far western Xinjiang region may be the world's oldest, state-media reported on Friday. Archeologists in May found animal-fur menswear on the bodies of two mummies, identified as male shamans in their 40s, the state-run China Daily cited scientists as saying.
An international team is working together to repair and preserve the two pairs - which are the oldest yet discovered with a clear resemblance to modern trousers, the report said. "They were almost of the same shape as today's trousers," the report quoted Lu Enguo, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology in Xinjiang, as saying.
Despite their age, the trousers had exquisite detail woven into the wool. "We tend to underestimate the efforts people spend on making garments several thousand years ago, because they are seldom preserved," says Wagner. "Clothes were all about style and appearance, not only function."