Linen from the flax plant is the most popular textile in ancient Egypt, used in everyday clothing, bedding and funerary shrouds. Hemp is used since c. 8000 in fabric production for sacks, ropes and yarn, later in sails and clothing. Cotton is grown and cultivated in Egypt since c. 2600 BCE.
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Flax (Linen) - Linum usitatissimum
According to the Harvard Gazette the use of flax for linen goes back a mind-boggling 34,000 years. A team of archaeologists and paleobiologists discover flax strands in a cave in the Georgian Republic.
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Carbon dating confirms they are the oldest known fibers used by humans. The stalks of flax plants produce long natural fibers. Interwoven, the threads create a durable fabric.
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As time goes on people learn to treat the flax fibers by scraping and softening before weaving. With agricultural interbreeding and soil composition, production of high quality flax for linen increases. Linen also takes dye very well. By 1300 BCE, fine linen is appropriate for royal gift-giving.
The flax plant also produces flaxseed or linseed oil, extracted from the edible seeds. Seeds can be ground as flour and used in baking or boiled as a type of porridge.
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Hemp - Cannabis sativa
Use of C. sativa goes back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and China c. 8000 - 10,000 BCE. Versatile and durable, hemp is among the most valuable crops of the ancient world.
Hemp fiber is first used in bags, sacks and ropes. Without the intoxicating effects of its relatives, hemp is also eaten as a nutritious leafy green, seeds, or used as an oil or medicine.
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With introduction of the sail c. 3800 - 3400 BCE hemp finds a new use. Mastery of sailing begins on the rivers, such as the Nile, and river marshes in the deltas of the Nile and Tigris / Euphrates Rivers.
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Early sails are animal skins or woven rushes. Hemp is initially used but soon replaced with the products of the flax plant, linen, due to its finer weave. Later, hemp is refined for use in shoes and clothes. Evidence suggests Egyptians are aware of its psychoactive relative too.
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Cotton - Gossypium genus
Cotton is grown in ancient Egypt and prospers with the agreeable climate. Old World cotton includes Gossyplum arboreum and G. herbaceum.
Cotton cultivation in Egypt begins before the Bronze Age. The first cotton cultivation is in eastern Sudan near the basin of the Middle Nile c. 5000 BCE.
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Compared to hemp and flax, cotton is a young crop. With experience gleaned from centuries of agriculture with other plants, farmers help it mature quickly.
Cotton cloth is produced in Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilization by c. 3000 BCE. It later replaces hemp as sailcloth, to be replaced by a stronger lighter linen. Egyptian cotton is considered by some to be the finest type of cotton.
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Although ancient Egyptians have wool, it's rarely used as it's considered unclean. The wearing of wool is a taboo which can be broken only by the wealthy.
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