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).
Table 1.
Sites and context from which archaeological leather items were sampled.
*Without osteological sex determination.
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.
Fig 3.
Graphic reconstruction of quivers with approximate location of their extant fragments; numbers indicate sample numbers (Image: M. Daragan).
Fig 4.
Scythian gold pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla, Ukraine (Image: After Polidovich 2021).
Fig 5.
Pie chart of identifications from ZooMS and LC-MS/MS analysis (Image: Authors).
Table 2.
ZooMS identifications of the 45 samples.
*This ID cannot be distinguished from Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee) and Pan paniscus (bonobo), who are however both African species and would be very surprising in this cultural context. **Only a few species within the genus Mustela are currently included in the ZooMS database and these cannot be distinguished [49, 55].
Fig 6.
Spectrum of sample 7 from Ilyinka kurgan 4 burial 2 with markers identifying it to human skin.
Table 3.
Number of proteins and corresponding peptides identified in each sample.
No. of MS2 spectra is the total for identified proteins. *This is based on current databases and potential S. vulgaris keratin sequence fragments [50] ** No single match in current databases suggests it is a Eurasian felid; currently not sequenced.
Fig 7.
Depictions of Scythian warriors wearing decorated sleeved leather garments: 1–2. Guilded silver bowl from Haimanova Mohyla, north chamber (After Bidzilia, Polin 2012, Figs 150, 158); 3–4. Golden cone from Perederiyiva Mohyla, Ukraine (Image: Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Kyiv).