Twelve scenes depicting Chinese silk production, mostly done by women in these images, from Abbe Grosier's "Atlas General de la Chine" ("General Atlas of China," Paris, 1785). These scenes show the process from killing the silkworm larvae to spinning the silk: "Winding the Cods in ye Cauldron, Balneum Mariae to kill ye worms in the Cods, Taking the Cods from ye Mats after smother'd in the Earthen Pots, Hanging up ye Sheets of Paper with Eggs on them, Ways of Winding the Silk, Winding from the Cods in a Copper of Warm Water." Silk fabric was first developed in ancient China, with some of the earliest examples found as early as 3500 BC. The silk trade reached as far as the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa and was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia came to be known as the Silk Road.The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity.