Carpets were probably first made by nomadic peoples to cover the earthen floor in their tents. It is not certain however, if the Egyptians, the Chinese, or even the Mayas first invented carpet making. It is quite possible that many peoples, none of whom were in contact with each other, began to make carpets at about the same time.
We can be certain however, that by the fifth century BC carpet making had reached a high artistic level. This was proven by the Russian archaeologists Rudenko and Griaznov, who in 1949 discovered the oldest known "knotted" carpet in the Pazyryk valley, about 5000 feet up on the Altai Mountains in Siberia.
