The Art of Rug weaving goes back to the earliest days; most scholars think it originated among the nomadic people of Central Asia.  One of the oldest knotted pile rugs is the Pazyryk carpet found complete in a Scythian burial tomb in southern Siberia, Altay mountains in 1949.  The rug was carbon-dated to the 5th century B.C.  but who it was made by is still in debate.  Some think it is of Persian or Assyrian origin,  others attribute it to Turkmen people.  Some other older fragments were found in the area and are incredibly fine,  one is about two hundred years older and has 400 knots per square inch.

Rugs and other weavings were traditionally made by women for their own  family’s daily use or by young girls assisted by their mother or family member for their dowries and to use in their future homes or tents. This created competition among the weavers to make a finer, more intricate and colorful piece then the one before.  Each nomadic or tribal group has a specific traditional set of designs and motifs that is unique to them. The availability of plants and other sources for the colors also varied in the region, influencing the color combination of their weaving.  Much of the finished product depends on the woman weaving that particular piece,  she may use different motifs and colors to express herself, her feelings and the events in her life. Consequently, each piece is one of a kind.

With the popularity and demand of the West for oriental and tribal weavings,  many weavers started making rugs for the mass market.  This limited their artistic creativity since it became more important to make something that sells instead of what they would like or want to make.