Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine
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Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine. / Brandt, Luise Ørsted; Mackie, Meaghan; Daragan, Marina; Collins, Matthew J.; Gleba, Margarita.
In: PLoS ONE, Vol. 18, No. 12, e0294129, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine
AU - Brandt, Luise Ørsted
AU - Mackie, Meaghan
AU - Daragan, Marina
AU - Collins, Matthew J.
AU - Gleba, Margarita
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Brandt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, our knowledge regarding the specific animal species used in Scythian leather production remains limited. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.
AB - Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, our knowledge regarding the specific animal species used in Scythian leather production remains limited. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0294129
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0294129
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38091270
AN - SCOPUS:85179641543
VL - 18
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 12
M1 - e0294129
ER -
ID: 378765130