Ages before periwigs were fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries, Chinese 2,000 years ago may have worn such hairpieces made of hemp.
Archeologists said Chinese might have adorned themselves with periwigs over 2 millennia ago, said archeologists who unearthed a skeleton wearing a hairpiece from a tomb in Sichuan Province in the southwest.
The wig found on the skull was made of hemp, said Zhang Rong, a heritage restoration technician with a museum in Liangshan prefecture, where the finding was reported.
Zhang said she had consulted several seasoned hemp knitters there before she reached the conclusion.
The wig dates back to years between the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), said Liu Hong, curator of the museum in Liangshan, a community of the Yi ethnic group.
He said a joint archeological team sent by the museum and Sichuan University excavated 11 rectangular tombs in Sikai district, Zhaojue County, in the Daliangshan Mountain in the past two weeks.
According to the region's ancient burial tradition, corpses were buried only after they were air dried.
(Xinhua)