Oldest Indigo-Dyed Fabric Discovered in Peru

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Oldest Indigo-Dyed Fabric Ever Is Discovered in Peru

The oldest indigo-dyed fabric ever found has been discovered in Peru, pushing back the use of this blue coloring to at least 6,200 years ago.

Previously, the oldest sample of blue-dyed fabric dated to around 4,400 years ago in Egypt, with the oldest written references to blue dye going back to around 5,000 years ago in the Middle East. The discovery in Peru, however, shines a spotlight on the Americas, which are less-discussed in terms of firsts, said study researcher Jeffrey Splitstoser, an archaeologist and textile expert at The George Washington University.

Read more: Live Science

[paperdyer 1,589]

Interesting.  Most natural indigo has been replaced by synthetic indigo.  I wonder what the Egyptians used to "reduce" the necessary groups on the natural indigo to give it affinity for the cloth.  Dyeing the cloth in the pigment form would have given low color yield and poor fastness relative to the "reduced" form.  Then again maybe the Egyptians didn't care.

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