Silk found on 3,000-year-old bronze masks and offerings at Sanxingdui, China
Every cloth sample tested from the Sichuan sacrificial pits was silk, and the authors think it cushioned, covered or wrapped ritual offerings in the late Shang period.
An ancient bronze mask from Sanxingdui on display in the Sanxingdui Museum, Sichuan, in 2010. Photo: Gary Todd, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
