Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
Scythian leather made of human skin
A recent study, published in PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294129), has analysed 47 samples of leather from burials at 14 Scythian sites in southern Ukraine, dating from the 4th-5th century BC. The researchers used palaeoproteomics (the study of ancient proteins) to identify the species from which the leather was made. They found that a variety of animals were represented: mostly domesticates, particularly sheep and goat, but also cattle and horse. There were also a few pieces originating from wild animals hunted for their furs. The most surprising discovery, however, was two samples made from human skin. Both came from the top parts of quivers, confirming that there was some truth in the claims of ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who reported that the Scythians flayed their enemies and turned their skin into leather covers for their quivers.
New breakthrough in Vesuvius Challenge
The Vesuvius Challenge has just awarded the 2023 Grand Prize of $700,000 (plus $50,000 for each of the three runner-up teams) for the digital recovery of four readable passages from an ancient burnt scroll from Herculaneum. The winning entry came from a three-man team made up of previous Vesuvius Challenge prize-winners – including the winners of the First Letters Prize (CWA 122) – and surpassed the requirement for the Grand Prize with an additional 11 columns of text, revealing more than 2,000 characters in total. Papyrologists are now working on a preliminary transcription of this text, comprising about 5% of the scroll. They have determined that it is a never-before-seen work of Epicurean philosophy, discussing music, food, and life’s pleasures, possibly written by Philodemus, who is thought to have been philosopher-in-residence of the villa where the scrolls were found. A new set of prizes has now been announced for 2024.
Sticky stone tools
New analysis of stone tools from Le Moustier in France, dating to c.40,000-60,000 years ago, suggests that their creators (most likely Neanderthals) were using a sophisticated adhesive to create grips. Recent re-examination of the tools, which were excavated in the early 20th century, revealed that several bore remnants of a combination of ochre and bitumen, both of which must have come from sources some distance away. Experimental archaeology revealed that when liquid bitumen is mixed with more than 50% ochre (the ratio found at Le Moustier), it creates a malleable material that is just sticky enough to hold on to a stone tool, but does not stick to the skin, making it a perfect handle. Microscopic use-wear analysis of the tools supports this interpretation. The discovery indicates that the Middle Pleistocene inhabitants of Europe were capable of the same advanced cognitive processes found in the African Middle Stone Age. The research has been published in Science Advances (https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl0822).
Text: Amy Brunskill
