Silk: The History of a Fabric That Was Civilization’s First Burial Cloth, Body Armor, and Much More

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2024

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Silk—prized for its lightness, luminosity, and beauty—is also one of the strongest biological materials ever known. More than a century ago, it was used to make the first bulletproof vest, and yet science has barely even begun to tap its potential. As the technologies it has inspired—from sutures to pharmaceuticals, replacement body parts to holograms—continue to be developed in laboratories around the world, they are now also beginning to offer an alternative to such modern materials as plastics.

But it’s history goes much further back, Starting with 1,000 years ago, as caravans crossed Eurasia to transport silk from China to Europe; and at least as far back as 6,000 years, when silk was first used in funeral rituals.

Today’s guest is Aarathi Prasad, author of “Silk: A World History.” She wrote a cultural and biological history from the origins and ancient routes of silk to the biologists who learned the secrets of silk-producing animals, manipulating the habitats and physiologies of moths, spiders, and mollusks. Because there is more than one silk, there is more than one story of silk. More than one road, more than one people who discovered it, and wove its threads.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:07.0	No Fabric has done as much for human civilization as silk.
0:11.0	It created the first iteration of global trade with the silk road. It was the first
0:14.8	form of body armor. Mongols would have a layer of silk under their outer clothing, making
0:19.0	the removal of arrows easier. Then silk was part of some of the oldest burial ceremonies we've seen.
0:24.0	But silk doesn't just come from the Chinese silkworm.
0:26.8	It can be harvested from the sea, from mollusks, it can be harvested from moths.
0:31.2	And today scientists are trying to harvest silk from
0:33.6	spiders using material that's highly flexible but stronger than steel,
0:37.4	basically making the fiction of Spider-Man come true. Today's guest is Arathi
0:41.2	Prasad, author of Silk of World History.
0:43.7	She's a PhD in molecular genetics and trained in bioarchology,
0:47.2	and was also born to an Indian mother who wore only silk.
0:50.1	We look at the complex story of this fabric that span continents and millennia,
0:53.6	but also its features a resource with incredible untapped potential.
0:56.8	Hope we enjoy this discussion with R.A.T. Prasad.
0:58.8	And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for word from our sponsors.
1:06.0	This episode is brought to you by Wise, the account that helps you manage your money all around the world.
1:11.0	I lived overseas for many years and one of the biggest
1:12.9	bottlenecks to international living is money transfers. You want to withdraw money
1:16.4	from an ATM to access funds from your American bank account and you don't realize
1:19.8	you're getting hit with a $10 charge every single time you do that.
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