Americans use the earliest dye in the world

George Washington University has discovered cloths using the 6,200-year-old indigo dye when excavating the ancient ritual of Huaca Prieta in northern Peru in 2007.

This is a temple - where people bring textiles - garments to worship as part of the ceremony.

6,000-year-old dyed fabric was discovered in Peru.(Photo: Newsreportcenter).

This fabric initially did not show color. After gently rinsing, using high-performance liquid chromatography, the researchers found it to be the oldest dyed fabric . There are 5 out of 8 samples tested with traces of indigo dye. The rest may also be indigo but faded.

"On this type of fabric dating back more than 6,000 years, there are green pigments, which we identified as indigoid dyes (indigotine). This is the oldest dye fabric in the world," the researchers said. Previously, the oldest indigo dyed fabric was considered to be only 2,000 years old in Egypt.

Scientists determined that indigoid dyes can be found in indigo (Indigofera) . The ancient Peruvians were able to produce dyes from this plant. Meanwhile, the ancient Egyptians extracted the dye from the sea snail.

Jeffrey Splitstoser, of the research group, said that while many other flower-grass dyes are produced simply by boiling and extracting colors, the creation of dyes from indigo is complex: Up yeast, make the mixture airy until a solid compound is formed at the bottom and dried and stored. Then, use an alkaline substance such as urine dilute the compound, creating a solution of white eczema. The embedded fabric will turn yellow, green and eventually blue.