New Scientist
Image: Mayke Wagner/German Archaeological Institute
Hipsters wanting the ultimate retro look, take note: two pairs of trousers from China may be the earliest yet found. Their straight legs and wide crotches suggest that the invention of trousers was linked to the rise of horse riding.
Robes, tunics and loin cloths were the clothing of choice throughout much of prehistory. Trousers are a more recent innovation. One early pair from Nepal is only 2400 years old (Journal of Archaeological Science, doi.org/bvq2fq).
Mayke Wagner at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin and her colleagues studied two pairs of woollen trousers from a cemetery in Xinjiang, China. Carbon dating shows they are about 3000 years old.
Before that time, local people wore skirts and cloaks – but then horse ridingbecame popular. “During normal movements the inner parts of the legs, the crotch and the lower abdomen are not exposed to friction over an extended period of time,” says Wagner. “This only becomes an issue when straddling a horse daily.” Read more on newscientist.com…
