"Study Reveals That Scythian Warriors Likely Carried" Topic

… Leather Quivers Made From The Skin Of Their Enemies

"In his famous Histories, ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Scythians, a nomadic group renowned for their prowess in combat. As Herodotus traveled along the Black Sea, he made observations of the Scythians, painting them as cruel and barbarous. He wrote that they blinded their slaves and, disturbingly, made leather out of human skins…"

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Armand

So, once again the contemporary record is proved correct. When are historians going to just accept contemporary accounts, at least as the default hypothesis rather than truth, if there is no evidence to contradict them?

Not the first time one of Herodotus' "wild" claims has been verified. He's not the "Father" of Western History for no reason.

Herodotus is very upfront (occasionally!) with "Here is some stuff I heard about. So I'm writing it down."
He's not gullible.

Since I'm deep in a Comanche project, all I can think is "What a Comanche thing to do!"
S C Gwynne was accused of racism in his magisterial "Empire of the Summer Moon", by a tiny minority of reviewers. In one cited case, he mentioned that the Comanche were short, squat and bow legged "much like Scythians and Mongols". And they also appreciated a good atrocity. I'm quite sure that if any had been given a decent Classical Education, he would go back to Comancheria and say, "Hey Ten Bears! Wait until you hear this!"

Great post Armand

A votre service mon cher ami…

Armand

"at least two samples were of human origin."
- not exactly an avalanche of evidence.

Is it possible given that Herodotus' reference to right hands "nails and all" that this was some sort of sympathetic magic appropriating skills of the enemy fighter.

The taking of trophies from fallen enemies was not uncommon in the so called barbarian cultures to the north of the Graeco-Roman world, while of course, circus entertainment in the arena and crucifixion represented the peak of civilisation (but then, all due respect to Herodotus, that was the bloody Romans, not your average Graeco).

Thanks

Armand