Archeologists Discover Pakistan’s 7,200-Year-Old Cotton in Israel

Archeologists have unearthed 7,200-year-old cotton remnants from Pakistan’s Indus Valley civilization in a small ancient village in Israel.

Cotton, which was considered a luxury at the time, was discovered in a deserted Israeli village called Tel Tsaf, which has many ancient ruins dating back 7,300 years.

Several archeologists from Stanford University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Haifa, as well as from a German museum, have stated in their study that ancient cotton traveled all this distance from prehistoric Pakistan to an Israeli village through trading.

One of the study’s authors, Danny Rosenberg of the University of Haifa, stated that the reason they believe cotton is not local is that it only grows in tropical or subtropical environments with plenty of water.

He further noted, “the cultivation of cotton arose independently around the world, including in the Indus Valley and North Africa. However, cultivation in North Africa was later.”

Moreover, the study indicates that the earliest archaeological evidence of cotton’s use exists in Balochistan’s Mehrgarh, where it was used around 7,500 to 8,500 years ago.

However, it is worth noting that the oldest known cotton fabric is a little piece of real cloth, glued to a silver vase, in Indus Valley, which was discovered between 4,750 and 5,000 years ago in Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh.

In this regard, Rosenberg stated that these details and historical evidence suggest that cotton, which has been found in Israel, is from prehistoric Pakistan.