ABSTRACT
Historically silks were known to the ancient Chinese since 3000 B.C. To the Western world, the art of silk production and processing was largely unknown for centuries as the process of sericulture was kept secret. Over time, migration, commerce, and wars led to the birth of the Silk Road, and the loss of the monopoly on silk production. Later, silks transitioned from textile-targeted materials into surgical sutures. Subsequently, silk stirred the interest of the scientic community and in 1913 the capacity of silk to diract x-rays was reported (Lucas et al., 1958).
