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If you've never heard of the Scythians, you're not alone. 2,500 years ago, an ancient civilization roamed Europe and Asia, but little is known about them.
But we now know that they make leather out of the enemy's **.
Rumors about their bloodthirsty behavior have long existed, mainly stemming from a book written about them by Herodotus, aka the Father of History.
However, modern historians suspect that Herodotus may have exaggerated a little, such as "a Scythian drank the blood of the first man he took down" and "many people were stripped from their whole bodies and then rode on wooden frames".
However, now a new study has found that they did make leather from humans.
The team, led by Luise Rsted Brandt of the University of Copenhagen, analyzed 45 pieces of leather from 14 cemeteries in Ukraine and found two items containing human **.
"Our findings suggest that the Scythians mainly produced leather using domesticated species such as sheep, goats, cattle and horses, and that fur was made from wild animals," the authors wrote. ”。
This surprising discovery was the presence of two human samples, which for the first time provided direct evidence for the claim of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus that the Scythians used the ** of their sworn enemies to make leather trophies. ”
This ** seems to have been used to make arrows, long bags for arrows.
Previously, it was difficult to determine the exact ** found in these samples, as the tanning process destroys the DNA.
But new technologies developed in recent years have allowed scientists to extract protein from leather and match it to different species.
In addition to humans, the Scythians also made leather from goats, sheep, cows, horses, foxes, big cats, and squirrels - so in reality, it seems that anything is fair.
As a nomadic society, they left little for future archaeologists and historians to portray the society of the Scythians. Most of the artifacts were recovered from mounds, and in addition to leather goods, they included sculptures, headdresses, and a famous golden chest – basically a very thick necklace.
The Scythians lived between 700 and 300 BC, and they roamed the Eurasian steppes, stretching from Eastern Europe to northern China.
While Herodotus would have us believe that they were just barbarians, drinking blood and scalping, the world would be very different today without them.
"For more than three centuries, the Scythians have been a mobile bridge connecting various sedentary societies in Europe and Asia, playing a fundamental role in the creation and transfer of technology, language, ideology, commodities and pathogens between the "East" and the "West," the author writes. ”。
Not only that, but they also seem to be very fair when it comes to cutting.
Evidence from other burial sites suggests that mourners cut off their own fingers when the Scythian king died.
It may be a little too dramatic, but it does make Herodotus' narrative more believable.
Speaking of which, there is one more piece: "Many Scythians even made clothes out of these scalps and wore them, sewing them together like leather coats." ”