Abstract: Excavations at the tomb M29 of Yingpan in Xinjiang produced seed cotton with boll shell. The radiocarbon date gives the cotton a date of 845±40 BP. The cotton is identified as specie of Gossypium herbaceum by the analysis of the boll shell, seed, and fiber. This is the first scientific identification of the date and specie to seed cotton in China. From the historical literature, the introduction of G.herbaceum in Xinjiang, called the West Region in ancient times can be traced back to Han Dynasty,The planting of G.herbaceum spreaded from west to east, and just to Hexi Region before Yuan Dynasty. There are many archaeological discoveries of cotton fabrics in Xinjiang from Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, to Song and Yuan Dynasty. The identification of specie to seed cotton unearthed from Yingpan is consistent with historical records and confirmed that G.herbaceum was planted in the West Region in ancient times.

Key words: Yingpan, seed cotton, accelerator mass spectrometry, West Region, G.herbaceum