The story about the Chinese silk moths and them being protected is I'm not sure that that's true because the Chinese did share technology with Korea and Japan and with the Mongols. No one would domesticate an insect or an animal at all if they didn't already see a value in it. The idea that it was illegal to take out some moths and... Yes, but certainly in the West it didn't come here until millennia after it had started being developed in China. And it's a slow process. Is it that it moves from one country to the next country into the next through trade? Well that's the thing, there's a very famous story written by Prokop
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium are the stars of Ed Conway’s book, Material World. He tells Tom Sutcliffe how they built our world, from the Dark Ages to the present day. And how much the battle to secure them will shape our geopolitical future.
The science writer Aarathi Prasad focuses on one of the world’s strongest biological materials ever known – Silk. In her latest book she explores the ancient origins of silk, its global reach, and how it continues to inspire new technologies – from pharmaceuticals to holograms.
And materials and how different civilisations use them are at the heart of the British Museum’s exhibition, Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece (until 13th August). The curator, Jamie Fraser, highlights the perceived excesses of the Persian empire – with its abundance of gold, finely crafted pottery and frankincense – in direct contrast to the plainer tastes of their Greek victors.
Producer: Katy Hickman