Silk manufacture in China. Weavers stretching the warp threads on a loom. Engraving published by Carington Bowles (1724-93). Silk fabric was first developed in ancient China, with some of the earliest examples found as early as 3500 BC. The silk trade reached as far as the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa and was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia came to be known as the Silk Road.The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity.