16.1.History and Classifications 327 Minor to Spain several millennia ago.Today,Merino sheep are raised essentially on all of the continents.New Zealand,for ex- ample,with a population of only 3.5 million people,hosts some 50 million sheep of various breeds,whose forebearers were in- troduced there by British settlers about 150 years ago. Wild sheep have long,coarse fibers (called hairs)and a softer undercoat of short and fine fibers which provides thermal insu- lation.The Merino sheep has been bred to eliminate the outer coat and the annual shedding,allowing instead a continuously growing fine and soft fleece which can be repeatedly shorn off. Fibers retrieved from plants likewise played an important role in early civilizations because of their usefulness for clothing,stor- age,shelter (e.g.,tents),and cordage.It is,however,not fully known when specific plants were first cultivated for fiber pro- duction.Nevertheless,some records indicate that hemp was pre- sumably the oldest cultivated plant for this purpose.Hemp was first grown in Southeast Asia,from where it spread to China in approximately 4500 B.C.Flax was probably cultivated in Egypt before 3400 B.C.,at which time the art of spinning and weaving linen was already well developed.Woven flax and wool fabrics were found at the sites of the "Swiss lake dwellers"dating back to the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. Cotton was spun in India as early as 3000 B.C.,as some finds in tombs of that time indicate.A Hindu hymn written around 1400 B.C.describes the fabrication of cotton yarn and the weav- ing of cotton cloth.In contrast,the Egyptians seem to have started the cultivation of cotton much later,that is,at about A.D. 600-700.From there cotton spread to the Greek mainland and to the Romans. The production of silk,that is,the cultivation of the larva of Bombyx mori(commonly called mulberry silkworm)is attributed to the Chinese empress,Hsi-ling Shih,who,in 2640 B.C.,discov- ered that the silk filament from a cocoon could be unwound. (Other sources claim that Japan,at about 3,000 B.C.,was the first country in which silkworms were domesticated.)The technique of silk-making (called sericulture)was kept a secret by the Chi- nese for about 3,000 years but eventually spread to Persia,Japan, and India.Legend has it that two Persian monks smuggled some silkworm eggs and seeds of the mulberry tree (on whose leaves the larva feed)out of China.This triggered a silk industry in Byzantium during the reign of emperor Justinian(A.D.527-565) and in Arabic countries beginning with the eighth century A.D. Eventually,the art of sericulture spread in the twelfth century to Italy and thus to Europe.Silk was and still is regarded even to- day as a highly esteemed,luxury fabric because it is the finest ofMinor to Spain several millennia ago. Today, Merino sheep are raised essentially on all of the continents. New Zealand, for ex￾ample, with a population of only 3.5 million people, hosts some 50 million sheep of various breeds, whose forebearers were in￾troduced there by British settlers about 150 years ago. Wild sheep have long, coarse fibers (called hairs) and a softer undercoat of short and fine fibers which provides thermal insu￾lation. The Merino sheep has been bred to eliminate the outer coat and the annual shedding, allowing instead a continuously growing fine and soft fleece which can be repeatedly shorn off. Fibers retrieved from plants likewise played an important role in early civilizations because of their usefulness for clothing, stor￾age, shelter (e.g., tents), and cordage. It is, however, not fully known when specific plants were first cultivated for fiber pro￾duction. Nevertheless, some records indicate that hemp was pre￾sumably the oldest cultivated plant for this purpose. Hemp was first grown in Southeast Asia, from where it spread to China in approximately 4500 B.C. Flax was probably cultivated in Egypt before 3400 B.C., at which time the art of spinning and weaving linen was already well developed. Woven flax and wool fabrics were found at the sites of the “Swiss lake dwellers” dating back to the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. Cotton was spun in India as early as 3000 B.C., as some finds in tombs of that time indicate. A Hindu hymn written around 1400 B.C. describes the fabrication of cotton yarn and the weav￾ing of cotton cloth. In contrast, the Egyptians seem to have started the cultivation of cotton much later, that is, at about A.D. 600–700. From there cotton spread to the Greek mainland and to the Romans. The production of silk, that is, the cultivation of the larva of Bombyx mori (commonly called mulberry silkworm) is attributed to the Chinese empress, Hsi-ling Shih, who, in 2640 B.C., discov￾ered that the silk filament from a cocoon could be unwound. (Other sources claim that Japan, at about 3,000 B.C., was the first country in which silkworms were domesticated.) The technique of silk-making (called sericulture) was kept a secret by the Chi￾nese for about 3,000 years but eventually spread to Persia, Japan, and India. Legend has it that two Persian monks smuggled some silkworm eggs and seeds of the mulberry tree (on whose leaves the larva feed) out of China. This triggered a silk industry in Byzantium during the reign of emperor Justinian (A.D. 527–565) and in Arabic countries beginning with the eighth century A.D. Eventually, the art of sericulture spread in the twelfth century to Italy and thus to Europe. Silk was and still is regarded even to￾day as a highly esteemed, luxury fabric because it is the finest of 16.1 • History and Classifications 327