The history of warfare is often the history of barbarity – we’ve seen examples of such far too recently to be comfortable with. But 2,400 years ago, Scythian warriors were rampaging across the Eurasian steppe, happily slaughtering traveling merchants and taking some… unusual trophies.
Scythians in modern-day Ukraine made leather out of human skin, a team of researchers has determined, likely as a macabre trophy item. The discovery affirms a claim by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote extensively on the Scythian way of life.
In their work, the researchers use paleoproteomics to establish the sources of leather found on 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. The manifold sources—sheep, goat, cattle, horse, and yes, human—suggest that the equestrian steppe groups had a sophisticated knowledge of leatherworking.
Lest we be too quick to denounce the Scythians…
