Herodotus validated once again: Scythian quivers made of human leather (Brandt et al 2023)

A few days ago an interesting article regarding the sources of leather in the  Scythian period of southern Ukraine. By analysing leather samples through ZooMS analysis the autors were able to uncover the animal sources of the leather samples. Most interestingly to me are the findings suggesting human skin as a source for the leather of some objects.

Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine

Luise Ørsted Brandt, Meaghan Mackie, Marina Daragan, Matthew J. Collins, Margarita Gleba.

Published: December 13, 2023

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294129

Abstract

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.

The majority of the leather samples in this article were sourced from domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and goats. Several samples were obtained from wild animals, one sample is interesting as it might have come from a feline species:

The final three ZooMS identifications stand out the most: two come from a wild carnivore (one identified as red fox (sample 45), the other could be referred to either tiger, lion, marten, wolverine, otter or hyena (sample 34).

Given that during this time period lions still roamed in the southeastern corner of Europe., it might be the case that the skin came from a lion. However caniforms such as martens or wolverines are also possible, as well as other feline species from Asia. 

The most interesting finding of this article is this one of course:

Human skin

The ancient Greek ‘father of history’ Herodotus dedicated an entire book to describing Scythian history and customs, and reported upon some remarkable stories. Among these, are tales of Scythians drinking blood of their enemies, using human scalps as trophies and flaying their dead enemies in order to turn the skin into a leather cover for their quivers:  ….

Our results appear to confirm Herodotus’ grizzly claim. The proteins from samples 7 and 21, deriving from quivers found in Ilyinka kurgan 4 burial 2 and Bulhakovo kurgan 5 burial 2, indicate human origin, based on both ZooMS and LC-MS/MS analysis. To our knowledge, the only other reported instance of the use of human skin in a quiver was identified in Yakovlevskiy kurgan 3 burial 1 (4th century BC) in Russia using counter-immunoelectrophoresis.

Although macabre to our modern view, other Scythian customs described by Herodotus have also been supported by archaeological findings. For example, the recent re-investigation of one of the four largest royal Scythian kurgans in southern Ukraine, the Aleksandropol mound, led to the discovery of a large funerary feasting area in the immediate vicinity of the kurgan and, within it, 11 accompanying burials of men, women and children, all of whom appear to have been killed and buried there as part of the funerary rites for the royal occupant of the burial mound. These details closely correspond to Herodotus’ description of a Scythian king’s funeral (Herodotus 4.71–72;. The description of how mourners would carry out self-mutilation during burials of kings to express their grief has also been confirmed by the excavation of the burial mound of Chortomlyk. Here, six phalanxes of human fingers, two with cut marks, belonging to three or four different people were found, suggesting that Scythians did in fact mourn their kings by cutting off fingers.

Quiver from Bulkhanovo 5 burial 2 made from human leather.

I wanted to write a quick recap of this article and how this finding validates sections of Histories, written by the world’s first historian Herodotus himself. However, the authors basically did all that, so kudos to them. The authors mentioned some other examples of archaeology validating Herodotus, such as findings that suggestive of self-mutilation at burials, so I’ll talk about another case of archaeology validating this very same passage from Herodotus' account of the Scythians and their customs.

As to war, these are their customs. A Scythian drinks the blood of the first man whom he has taken down. He carries the heads of all whom he has slain in the battle to his king; for if he brings a head, he receives a share of the booty taken, but not otherwise.  

He scalps the head by making a cut around it by the ears, then grasping the scalp and shaking the head off. Then he scrapes out the flesh with the rib of a steer, and kneads the skin with his hands, and having made it supple he keeps it for a hand towel, fastening it to the bridle of the horse which he himself rides, and taking pride in it; for he who has most scalps for hand towels is judged the best man.  Many Scythians even make garments to wear out of these scalps, sewing them together like coats of skin. 

Many too take off the skin, nails and all, from their dead enemies' right hands, and make coverings for their quivers;the human skin was, as it turned out, thick and shining, the brightest and whitest skin of all, one might say. Many flay the skin from the whole body, too, and carry it about on horseback stretched on a wooden frame.

Herodotus, The Histories, book 4 chapter 64

The heads themselves, not all of them but those of their bitterest enemies, they treat this way. Each saws off all the part beneath the eyebrows, and cleans the rest. If he is a poor man, then he covers the outside with a piece of raw hide, and so makes use of it; but if he is rich, he covers the head with the raw hide, and gilds the inside of it and uses it for a drinking-cup. [2] Such a cup a man also makes out of the head of his own kinsman with whom he has been feuding, and whom he has defeated in single combat before the king; and if guests whom he honors visit him he will serve them with these heads, and show how the dead were his kinsfolk who fought him and were beaten by him; this they call manly valor.

Herodotus, The Histories, book 4 chapter 65

Another Scythian tradition described by Herodotus and other authors that has been verified in the archaeological record is scalping, most famously in the mummified remains of the male from the Pazyryk Barrow 2, the individual on the left on the image below:

The male from barrow 2 was an older man, who would have been around 50 to 60 years old at the time of his death. He was described as a broadly built man standing around 176 cm, a stature that significantly exceeds the average of eastern Scythians, but actually is pretty average for males in elite graves of the Pazyryk culture [1].

This male is also known for his tattoo sleeves, which you most likely have seen before:

Combining the burial, stature and tattoos, it is clear this male belonged to the upper strata of the Pazyryk society. Given the various unhealed injuries on his body he likely met his end on the battlefield.

According to Ammianus Marcellinus this was the preferred choice of death amongst Alans, and given the genetic and cultural relations to Pazyryk in addition to their war-like society you got to imagine similar sentiments were held in that population:

Just as quiet and peaceful men find pleasure in rest, so the Halani delight in danger and warfare. There the man is judged happy who has sacrificed his life in battle, while those who grow old and depart from the world by a natural death they assail with bitter reproaches, as degenerate and cowardly; and there is nothing in which they take more pride than in killing any man whatever: as glorious spoils of the slain they tear off their heads, then strip off their skins and hang them upon their war-horses as trappings.

Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, book 33 chapter  2 section  22

Herodotus also mentions decapitation, but it is unclear if that was involved here. The remains of Pazyryk mound 2 were headless when discovered actually, but the archaeologists stated this was done by later graverobbers.

The individuals had some post-mortem body modifications, such as the removal of organs for preservation of remains. This is also attested by Herodotus when describing the funeral rituals of the Royal Scythians. 

Whenever their king has died, the Scythians dig a great four-cornered pit in the ground there; when this is ready, they take up the dead man—his body enclosed in wax, his belly cut open and cleaned and filled with cut marsh-plants and frankincense, and parsley and anise seed, and sewn up again—and transport him on a wagon to another tribe.

Herodotus, The Histories, book 4 chapter 71

The male from Pazyryk mound 2 also had the skin of another individual sewn over his scalped remains, in addition to a fake beard which seems to have been painted from the natural dark chestnut to black to match the hair colour of the buried male, as shaven hairs near his remains were black and these were likely his [2].

The cranium of the Pazyryk barrow 2 male contained several trepanation holes. One was argued to be for the removal of the brain, as the female from the same burial as the same thing going on. However there seem to be other holes which seemingly seem to have been struck from behind, argued to have been made for the purpose of fastening a cut-off head to the saddle, as described by Herodotus. But I do not understand why these holes would be there if the individual had not been decapitated. Perhaps he was but then his tribe members were able to retrieve his head and stitch it onto the corpse? Or more likely, his enemies were in the process of taking his head with them but had to flee, quickly scalping the individual before leaving his corpse on the battlefield.

In any case, the unique climatic conditions in the Altai mountains allowed for the preservation of soft tissue, attesting to a tradition very similar to what Herodotus described on the other end of the steppes with the Scythians of the Black Sea. It likely is the case that we have a sizable amount of Scythian period remains of individuals which had been scalped, but we have not noticed it yet as there have been few studies specifically investigating this. One other example had been uncovered after reanalyses of craniums in the Aymyrlyg burial from the Uyuk culture in Tuva [3].

Such traditions were practised throughout the history of societies on the Eurasian steppes. In the middle ages we have two notorious cases of skull cups, fashioned out of the heads of Svyatoslav I and Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I, at the hands of the Pechenegs and Bulgars respectively. However, even in the 20th century you will find something recognizable. In Mongolia during the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, an era marked by notorious figures like Baron von Ungern-Sternberg and Ja Lama, acts reminiscent of the macabre traditions observed on the steppes.

Ja Lama reportedly engaged in grisly practices, including cutting out hearts of enemies and sacrificing them to buddhist deities, and of course skinning individuals alive. One documented case involved Ja Lama skinning a Kazakh chief, and by documented I mean that we have a photograph of this skin rug. Because it's not for the faint-hearted I decided to just upload the image online rather than to put it in my post. If you want to have a view, just click here.

Although in this instance you can argue that these acts can be attributed more to extreme forms of Tibetan Buddhist practices than simply nomadic steppe culture, the underlying themes remain consistent—the extraction of rather gruesome trophies from slain enemies. A tradition seemingly as old as any on the Eurasian Steppes.

References

• С.И. Руденко (1948) - Второй Пазырыкский курган (.S.I. Rudenko (1948)  - Second Pazyryk mound.) URL:http://kronk.spb.ru/library/rudenko-si-1948-12.htm

• С.И. Руденко (1953). Культура населения Горного Алтая в скифское время, Глава III. (S.I. Rudenko (1953) -  Culture of the population of Gorny Altai in Scythian times, chapter III.) URL: http://kronk.spb.ru/library/rudenko-si-1953-03.htm

• Murphy, Eileen & Gokhman, Ilia & Chistov, Yuri & Barkova, Ludmila. (2002). Prehistoric Old World Scalping: New Cases from the Cemetery of Aymyrlyg, South Siberia. American Journal of Archaeology. 106. 1. 10.2307/507186.