You think your jeans are old? Two pairs of pants were recovered from the mummies of men who died 3,300 years ago in the Xinjiang region of China. They are made of animal fur and are the oldest yet discovered pants with a complete crotch. They don’t look all that different from modern pants, according to Lu Enguo of the Institute of Archaeology in Xinjiang.
Even older apparel resembling trousers have previously been discovered in the region, but they were made based on a more simple design and lacked a piece of fabric covering the crotch, Lu said.
Archaeologists believe nomads living in the area invented trousers for horse riding.
Scientists hope to repair and preserve the trousers. The previous oldest pants with a complete crotch was 2,800 years old. -via Arbroath
(Image credit: German Archaeological Institute/M Wagner)