emirates7 - A team of archaeologists in China has uncovered solid proof that material exchanges between the East and West began long before the Silk Road was officially established during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), offering new insights into the existence of ancient trade routes.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) announced on Tuesday that glass beads resembling dragonfly eyes, found at four locations in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, closely match those previously discovered in central China's Hubei Province.
Both sets of beads are believed to have originated from the Levant region along the eastern Mediterranean coast.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported that this discovery shows cultural material exchanges between East and West occurred well before the Han Dynasty explorer Zhang Qian's missions to the Western Regions. These interactions took place on what can be called the "pre-Silk Road," prior to the Silk Road’s formal establishment.
These distinctive "dragonfly-eye" glass beads are made by embedding one or more colors of glass into a base glass, creating patterns similar to the compound eyes of a dragonfly.
The beads are traced back to Ancient Egypt around the 16th century BC.
In China, large quantities of these beads have been found in tombs of the State of Chu dating to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 BC–221 BC) in present-day Hubei, Hunan, and Henan Provinces.
Additionally, numerous sites in Xinjiang have also yielded soda-lime glass beads.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) announced on Tuesday that glass beads resembling dragonfly eyes, found at four locations in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, closely match those previously discovered in central China's Hubei Province.
Both sets of beads are believed to have originated from the Levant region along the eastern Mediterranean coast.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported that this discovery shows cultural material exchanges between East and West occurred well before the Han Dynasty explorer Zhang Qian's missions to the Western Regions. These interactions took place on what can be called the "pre-Silk Road," prior to the Silk Road’s formal establishment.
These distinctive "dragonfly-eye" glass beads are made by embedding one or more colors of glass into a base glass, creating patterns similar to the compound eyes of a dragonfly.
The beads are traced back to Ancient Egypt around the 16th century BC.
In China, large quantities of these beads have been found in tombs of the State of Chu dating to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 BC–221 BC) in present-day Hubei, Hunan, and Henan Provinces.
Additionally, numerous sites in Xinjiang have also yielded soda-lime glass beads.