Analytical study on the funerary textile of the tomb owner at Karatumma, Kazakhstan: A civilizational marker of the Prairie Silk Road

Within the framework of joint archaeological research under the Belt and Road Initiative, the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology and the Issyk National Historical and Cultural Museum collaborated from 2024 to 2025 to conduct a scientific investigation on a textile fragment unearthed from the Karatumma Cemetery (5th–3rd centuries BCE) in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. The fragment, a remnant of the female tomb owner’s funerary garment, exists as an amorphous brown mass with severe mineralization, decay, and contamination. Kazakh experts identified it as a plain-weave silk artifact via microscopic observation, noting two types of seams (hidden seams and lapped seams) and evidence of repairs. Based on yarn quality and weaving technique, they hypothesized that the garment might be made of silk. However, no systematic archaeometric analysis has been carried out on this burial garment, which limits the exploration of its cultural value and restricts the implementation of its conservation and restoration. Accordingly, this paper employs an interdisciplinary approach combining stereo microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and proteomics to determine the textile’s material properties from morphological and compositional perspectives and provide solid material evidence and scientific support for cultural exchanges along the Prairie Silk Road.