Wild silks. Globalized materials in the longue durée

Résumé En

Archaeological findings show the long-lasting uses in Human industries of various species belonging primarily to the Saturniidae family, qualified as ‘wild’ by Silk specialists. At least two wild silks species have been used since the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus valley (contemporary Pakistan), and another species was present during the following millennium in the Aegean. These discoveries and others made in the area comprised between Central Asia and Europe show that wild silks have an enduring globalized past which deserves attention in order to understand the history of silk/silkS as well as the importance/significance of these materials in today’s world. These species and the substances they produce are nowadays the focus of emerging interests in the domains of economic development, natural resources management, and cultural heritage.In this presentation, we aim to examine some ‘wild silk’ textiles, cocoons and specimens identified in French collections and to question ways by which social sciences may contribute to the knowledge of wild silkS in the past as well as today.