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Antichi guerrieri Sciti. Scoperta scioccante sui reperti in Ucraina. Gli archeologi: “Aveva ragione Erodoto. Usavano la pelle umana” Un team di antropologi provenienti da diverse istituzioni ha recentemente fatto una scoperta sconcertante che getta nuova luce sui misteri degli antichi guerrieri sciti. I risultati del loro progetto, pubblicato nelle ore scorse sulla rivista scientifica PLOS ONE, rivelano che due frammenti di pelle scita provenienti da siti in Ucraina erano in realtà realizzati con pelle umana. Questo ritrovamento è il risultato di un’indagine approfondita basata sulla verifica delle narrazioni storiche, in particolare sulle testimonianze dello storico greco Erodoto. Gli sciti, un antico popolo semi-nomade che abitava la steppa del Ponto-Caspio tra il 700 a.C. e il 300 a.C., hanno lasciato dietro di sé una storia avvolta nel mistero. Conosciuti principalmente per la loro abilità equestre e la ferocia in battaglia, gli sciti sono stati menzionati da Erodoto nei suoi scritti, il quale ha lasciato intravedere alcuni comportamenti particolari di questo popolo guerriero. Secondo le annotazioni di Erodoto, gli antichi sciti erano noti per pratiche insolite, come il consumo del sangue dei nemici uccisi e l’utilizzo delle loro pelli come indumenti. In particolare, il famoso storico greco suggeriva che gli sciti utilizzassero la pelle umana, in particolare prelevandola dalle mani dei loro avversari, per creare cuoio destinato alle loro faretre. Questa affermazione ha attirato l’attenzione del team di ricerca, che si è impegnato a confermare o smentire questa pratica. “Dopo la concia – scrive Erodoto – (lo scita, ndr.) tiene la pelle come se fosse una pezzuola: la appende ai finimenti del proprio cavallo e se ne vanta, perché chi possiede più pezzuole è considerato il più valoroso. Non pochi con questi scalpi si fanno persino dei mantelli da indossare, cucendoli assieme come fossero casacche da pastori. Molti poi asportano la pelle della mano destra (…) e ne fanno coperchi per le faretre”. Da un lato, quindi, trofei di guerra. Dall’altro, specie per il coperchio delle faretre, l’assunzione magica della forza del nemico. Una selezione dei frammenti di oggetti in pelle analizzati nello studio : 1. Ilyinka kurgan 4 sepoltura 2; 2. Ilyinka kurgan 4 sepoltura 3; 3. Vodoslavka kurgan 8 sepoltura 4; 4. Orikhove kurgan 3 sepoltura 2; 5. Zelene I kurgan 2 sepoltura 3; 6. Kairy V kurgan 1 sepoltura 1; 7. Ol’hyne kurgan 2 sepoltura 1; 8. Bulhakovo kurgan 5 sepoltura 2; 9. Zolota Balka kurgan 13 sepoltura 7 (Immagine: M. Daragan). Le unità delle barre della scala sono cm.@ Plos one Le indagini condotte dai ricercatori hanno coinvolto l’analisi di 45 campioni di pelle provenienti da 14 siti di scavo sciti. Utilizzando tecniche paleoproteomiche avanzate, il team è riuscito a identificare l’origine di ciascun campione. Sorprendentemente, 43 dei campioni erano composti da pelle di animali come cavallo, bovino, capra o pecora. Tuttavia, due campioni hanno rivelato una fonte inaspettata: la pelle umana, in accordo con le narrazioni di Erodoto. Ulteriori analisi su questi due campioni hanno evidenziato che la pelle umana era utilizzata solo nella parte superiore delle faretre, mentre il resto era realizzato con pelle animale. Questa scoperta suggerisce che gli antichi guerrieri sciti non solo adottavano pratiche insolite, come descritto da Erodoto, ma anche che erano capaci di creare le proprie faretre utilizzando materiali facilmente disponibili. In conclusione, questa scoperta archeologica getta nuova luce sulla vita degli antichi guerrieri sciti, confermando aspetti delle loro pratiche descritte nei racconti storici. La combinazione di approcci scientifici avanzati e interpretazioni storiche ha portato alla rivelazione di un dettaglio affascinante e inquietante della cultura degli sciti, dimostrando ancora una volta quanto la storia antica possa essere sorprendente e complessa. https://stilearte.it/antichi-guerrieri-sciti-scoperta-scioccante-sui-reperti-in-ucraina-gli-archeologi-aveva-ragione-erodoto-usavano-la-pelle-umana/ 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 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. Citation: Brandt LØ, Mackie M, Daragan M, Collins MJ, Gleba M (2023) Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine. PLoS ONE 18(12): e0294129. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129 Editor: John P. Hart, New York State Museum, UNITED STATES Received: July 7, 2023; Accepted: October 24, 2023; Published: December 13, 2023 Copyright: © 2023 Brandt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability: The data has been made publicly available: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/projects/PXD043533. Funding: This work was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung and Gerda Henkel Stiftung (project “The production technology of Scythian Archery equipment: bow, arrows and quivers”; Daragan), and the Danish National Research Foundation (grant 128 PROTEIOS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction The identification of the animal species used in archaeological leather is important. It not only provides insights into the range of animal species utilised but also reveals choices made in leather production, the functionality and appearance of the leather, and potentially even specific beliefs associated with the objects. Species identification of archaeological skin materials has previously primarily been performed by light and scanning electron microscopy of species-specific traits of the hair follicle pattern of the skin’s surface (grain pattern) and, if preserved, the hair morphology, as well as the skin’s cross section [1, 2]. Despite being widely applied, the reliability of species identification based on the light and electron microscopic observation of skin and hair morphology is problematic both due to biological variation within species, similarities between species, and loss of diagnostic features due to degradation [3, 4]. In recent decades, new methods based on the analysis of ancient biomolecules have been applied for the species identification of hide and leather. The analysis with the highest potential for taxonomic resolution is that of ancient DNA [5–8]. The success of DNA-based approaches, however, depends on DNA preservation, which is conditioned by the diagenetic conditions that the sample experienced during processing (such as tanning) and archaeological deposition [9], both likely to contribute to DNA degradation. More recently, alternative molecular approaches for species identification using mass spectrometry (MS) to analyse proteins have been adopted for the analysis of skin and fur. While liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based proteomics identifies all proteins in a sample [4], Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) approaches focus on specific proteins: keratin in fur samples and collagen in skin samples [10, 11]. The latter is also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). PMF is advantageous for several reasons: first, it requires a minimal sample size; second, it is fast and relatively inexpensive [12], which makes it possible to apply to samples where only minimal samples can be spared as well as to large sample sets; and third, its success has been shown to exceed that of ancient DNA analysis in cases of both older and more degraded samples [4]. We present the results of the first systematic application of PMF to identify species in Scythian leather artefacts excavated in southern Ukraine. The term Scythian is usually applied to a diverse group of nomadic peoples of varied genetic origin who inhabited the vast Eurasian steppes during the first millennium BCE and shared similar material culture, economic structure, lifestyle, and ideology [13–17]. For the purpose of the present study, Scythians are understood to be the nomads that occupied the steppes north of the Black Sea, and between the Danube and the Don Rivers, as defined by the ancient Greek ‘father of history’ Herodotus [17–19]. For over three centuries (c. 700–300 BCE), Scythians served as the mobile bridge that linked the various sedentary societies of Europe and Asia and played a fundamental role in the creation and transfer of technologies, languages, ideologies, commodities, and pathogens between ‘East’ and ‘West’ [15]. Scythian economy and daily life is, however, poorly understood due to their nomadic lifestyle and the disproportionate attention given to the spectacular gold objects from elite graves that have come to characterise the Scythian material culture in the archaeological literature and popular imagination [20–23]. In their everyday life, however, Scythians had much greater need for a stable supply of more basic materials, such as wood, bone, leather, and textile for the production of clothing, tools, and weapons. Among these, leather objects constitute a particularly neglected area of research, as they are usually highly degraded, fragmented, and rather unphotogenic. Degradation issues also result in difficulties in identifying the animal species used to produce these leather items. Our attempts to use traditional microscopy methods to identify the species of the Scythian leather samples were not successful. Apart from the two fur samples, the rest all lack pelage and their surfaces have been degraded, likely due to scraping and tanning of the skins during their preparation and use, as well as post-depositional processes [24]. Even on the larger fragments, the grain pattern was not sufficiently diagnostic. On the basis of hair morphology, the fur sample from Vil’na Ukraina 3, kurgan 22, burial 1 was identified as belonging to the Mustelidae family, while the fur sample from Ilyinka kurgan 4, burial 3 is likely from a rodent, but the species could not be identified in either case [44]. Since preliminary results of an experimental application of the PMF to some Scythian samples showed that the method was successful [24], we applied ZooMS, using an optimised protocol, to an expanded number of samples: 45 leather samples from 13 different Scythian kurgan sites in Ukraine, primarily dating to the fourth century BCE. One of those samples, as well as two additional samples, were also analysed using LC-MS/MS, bringing the total number of samples analysed to 47. This was done in order to gain information about the species and a better understanding of leather production in the Pontic Steppe. Materials and methods Archaeological samples The archaeological samples used in this study come from 18 burials excavated at 14 different sites in Southern Ukraine (Fig 1). No permits were required for the described study, which complied with all relevant regulations. Expand Fig 1. The map shows the sites from which leather samples were recovered: 1. Bulhakovo; 2. Ilyinka; 3. Kairy; 4. Kislychevate; 5. Ol’hyne; 6. Orikhove; 7. Otradne; 8. Sadove; 9. Tyahinka; 10. Vil’na Ukraina; 11. Vodoslavka; 12.Vysuns’k; 13. Zelene; 14. Zolota Balka (Map: M. Daragan, based on a DTM STRM Map services and data available from U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Program; Insert: M. Daragan based on https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ukraine/map). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129.g001 More » Table 1 summarises the contextual information of the archaeological material analysed in this study, including burial type, sex, and age of the deceased (where determined), a burial goods inventory, chronological date, and reference to the report or publication. Osteological analysis was impossible in many cases due to poor bone preservation and the sex in some cases is therefore ascribed based on the burial inventory. Not all originally recovered pieces have survived. Detailed descriptions and images of samples can be found in Table S1 (S1 File). The location of the objects at the time of sampling is noted in the first column. Expand Table 1. Sites and context from which archaeological leather items were sampled. *Without osteological sex determination. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129.t001 More » In many cases, the function of the original leather object cannot be determined with certainty due to their extremely fragmentary state of preservation (Fig 2). Some are likely elements of clothing (possibly trousers), boots or vessels. The majority of the leather artefacts, however, constitute the remains of some of the most iconic Scythian objects: quivers, containers for arrow storage, or gorytoi, containers that provided a secure storage and transportation of both arrows and the bow (Fig 3). Scythian archers are invariably depicted carrying a quiver/gorytos in ancient iconography and almost every Scythian burial is accompanied by a quiver set, although usually only the metal arrowheads survive [27]. Quivers are often depicted in artistic and decorative objects of the time. For example, a gorytos hangs above the central scene of the upper frieze of the gold pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla (Fig 4). The best preserved quivers from Bulhakovo and Ilyinka have allowed a reconstruction of the construction methods [27], but little was known about the nature of the materials used for the manufacture of the more mundane examples of leather Scythian quivers until the present study. Expand Fig 2. A selection of the leather object fragments analysed in this study: 1. Ilyinka kurgan 4 burial 2; 2. Ilyinka kurgan 4 burial 3; 3. Vodoslavka kurgan 8 burial 4; 4. Orikhove kurgan 3 burial 2; 5. Zelene I kurgan 2 burial 3; 6. Kairy V kurgan 1 burial 1; 7. Ol’hyne kurgan 2 burial 1; 8. Bulhakovo kurgan 5 burial 2; 9. Zolota Balka kurgan 13 burial 7 (Image: M. Daragan). The units of the scale bars are cm. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129.g002 More » Expand Fig 3. Graphic reconstruction of quivers with approximate location of their extant fragments; numbers indicate sample numbers (Image: M. Daragan). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129.g003 More » Expand Fig 4. Scythian gold pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla, Ukraine (Image: After Polidovich 2021). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294129.g004 More » ZooMS analysis A total of 45 archaeological leather items were sampled for ZooMS analysis. From each item a sample of a minimum of 2x2mm was discreetly removed for analysis. The samples were prepared according to a previously published protocol for parchment [45] with previously described optimisations for archaeological leather [3], this time including a gelatinisation of one hour at 65°C before the trypsin digestion. Samples were prepared at University of Copenhagen in the laboratory facilities of the Globe Institute. After spotting, plates were sent for MALDI ToF-analysis at BioArCh, University of York. Mass spectra were acquired over the m/z range 800–4000. Spectral analysis was performed using the open-source software mMass (www.mmass.org) [46]. The three spectra generated for each sample were averaged, and the average spectrum was then inspected manually for the presence of previously described peptide markers which may vary between species [47–49]. Taxonomic identifications were assigned at the most conservative level of identification (genus or family) based on the presence of unambiguous markers. These are marked with ‘?’ if present at low intensity, or with a low signal to noise (S/N) ratio. Spectra of poor quality (i.e. low S/N ratio and with no distinct markers) were designated ‘No ID’. The reference database of animals for which peptide markers have been identified is constantly growing. Currently the database contains all common domesticated mammals, and numerous species within the biological families Cervidae, Bovidae, Equidae, Canidae, Felidae, Mustelidae, and Hominidae, which would be relevant to the material in question. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) One sample, 21, which showed low resolution albeit a potentially important result, was chosen for re-analysis by LC-MS/MS. Two samples (48, 49) for which only fur and not skin was preserved were initially analysed by peptide mass fingerprinting using the protocol presented by Brandt et al. [50] with poor results. As mentioned above, hair morphology indicated Rodentia and Musteliadae, respectively, as the potential sources. These were therefore also chosen for LC-MS/MS. For LC-MS/MS analysis, ZooMS eluates were provided at approximately 0.4 μg/μL in 50% acetonitrile (ACN). Of this, 3 μL of each sample was put into separate wells of a 96-well MS plate. Samples were then vacuum-centrifuged to remove the ACN. Samples were then resuspended in 12 μL of 5% ACN 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and analysed by LC-MS/MS based on previously published protocols for palaeoproteomic samples [50, 51]. For the data analysis, Thermo RAW files generated by the Exploris 480 mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany) were then searched using MaxQuant (v.1.6.3.4; [52]) for interpretation of spectra. Files were first run against the Swissprot Database (downloaded from Uniprot 09/06/2020) and the common contaminant database provided by MaxQuant (of which identifications were removed from analysis). From this initial search, iterative searches were made to narrow down the database to the relevant proteins from the relevant species. Detailed LC-MS/MS and data analysis methods as well as spectra are provided in the S1 and S2 Files.

Ciao a tutti, ricominciamo finalmente gli acquisti collettivi o razzie (come si chiamano oggi). Questa è una discussione di servizio che cesserà di essere utile appena la razzia sarà finita. I principali aggiornamenti riguardanti la razzia saranno inseriti in questo primo messaggio, i dettagli e la discussione principale dove decidere eventuali future razzie è questa: http://www.lamoneta....onote-mondiali/ Regole principali 1) chiunque può partecipare 2) non ci sono limiti minimi o massimi di spesa per singolo 3) ci sono dei limiti minimi che collettivamente dobbiamo rispettare, solitamente 5 pezzi o altro stabilito dal venditore 4) nel caso ci fosse una disponibilità limitata di qualche pezzo, il primo o i primi che scrivono in questa discussione ne avranno diritto 5) nel caso ci fosse in generale più domanda che offerta, io deciderò in via equitativa assegnando almeno un lotto a testa e il resto si divide, ciò non toglie che se due o più partecipanti si mettono d'accordo e lo dichiarano pubblicamente a me sta bene 6) dalle eventuali situazioni descritte ai punti 4 e 5 io mi tiro fuori per dovere di trasparenza, ne avrei un vantaggio nei vostri confronti 7) non c'è obbligo di pubblicare i propri acquisti, limitatamente a quanto stabilito ai punti 4-5-6 8) il prezzo in Euro che mi farò fare e che riporterò in una tabella ad uso di tutti è all inclusive fino a casa mia 9) il pagamento di quanto scelto è anticipato e la quota di cui al punto 8 non comprende la spedizione da casa mia a casa vostra ed eventuali spese per il pagamento 10) in caso di smarrimento/furto la merce è assicurata fino a casa mia, quindi nel malaugurato caso dovesse succedere qualcosa, riavrete indietro tutti i soldi 11) in caso di smarrimento/furto la merce non è assicurata fino a casa vostra se non pattuito diversamente Queste regole valgono per ogni razzia, anche futura, che gestirò personalmente, fino a modifica scritta. Pagamento Come preferite, a scelta fra: - Bonifico bancario - Ricarica postepay - Paypal (contattarmi per la procedura per non pagare commissioni) - Moneybookers Spedizione (comprende imballaggio) - prioritaria: 1 euro (Italia ed Europa), 2 euro (Resto del Mondo) NESSUN RIMBORSO - raccomandata: 5 euro (Italia), 7 euro (Europa), 8 euro (Resto del Mondo) RIMBORSO MAX 25-30 EURO - assicurata: da concordare Paesi Faroe Is. Sierra Leone Malawi Kenya Rwanda Spagna Portogallo Romania Ucraina Tonga Comore Maldive Come riferimento per le immagini si può consultare il sito di Ron Wise: http://www.banknoteworld.com o di Owen Linzmayer (per le novità): http://www.banknotenews.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dovrebbe esserci tutto, eventuali commenti o perplessità sono i benvenuti se servono per migliorare l'esperienza. Ho provveduto a chiedere il preventivo, appena lo ricevo lo pubblicherò, nel frattempo vi chiedo di aderire alla razzia ed accettare le regole di cui sopra con una formula tipo "Voglio partecipare alla razzia n. 1 ed accetto le regole elencate nel primo messaggio dalla n. 1 alla n. 11" o similare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In allegato il preventivo e una nota sulle conservazioni che vi pregherei di leggere. Ho adattato un unico foglio Excel per rendere più semplice la gestione della razzia. Scaricatelo e compilatelo nelle parti richieste: nick, nome e indirizzo, quantità e spedizione. Dopodichè salvatelo mantenendo lo stesso nome e aggiungendo il vostro nick: es. RAZZIA n. 1 - heineken79 - 19-02-12.xls Inviatelo per MP o posta elettronica (contattatemi per il mio indirizzo). Come vedrete, sul foglio è stato indicato "LIMITED STOCK", è possibile quindi non riuscire ad accontentare tutti. In questo caso chiunque è interessato ad uno o più pezzi di questo tipo lo deve scrivere sul forum, es. Bangladesh 40f 20 taka 2008 UNC 1 pezzo Valgono le regole di cui sopra. ATTENZIONE: questi prezzi sono riservati per noi e valgono anche per future razzie salvo venduto. Quindi se in futuro qualcuno vuole aggiungere banconote di precedenti razzie lo può fare ai prezzi pubblicati salvo esaurimento. Per qualsiasi dubbio o domanda sono a disposizione. RAZZIA n. 3.zip