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This chapter examines changing practices of human sacrifice at the Huaca Pucllana platform pyramid in Lima, Peru. The construction of the pyramid was initiated by the Lima culture around 400 AD, and, as the Lima culture settled over the next four centuries, numerous individuals were sacrificed and buried in the foundations of the newly erected platforms. The individuals were often young women, who were either stabbed in the chest or had received strong blows to the head. The Waris occupied the area from around 800 AD and used the pyramid mainly as a cemetery. Infants may, however, have been sacrificed to follow individuals of the Wari elite in their deaths. In the final occupational phase of the pyramid, during the Ychsma culture, human sacrifices were no longer performed but were replaced by ritual offering and destruction of large, curvy ceramics symbolising women. This chapter further examines ritual sacrifices at Huaca Pucllana in relation to coastal natural disasters.

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.

De fineste danske vikinger købte bæverpels i udlandet og brugte det flotte tøj til at signalere høj status i hjemlandet

Using the organic artefacts from the fourth-century BC grave at Bulhakovo in southern Ukraine, this article discusses the economics of the perishable material culture of the Scythians of the Pontic Steppe region. Thanks to the survival of organic materials (wood, leather, textiles), the burial provides important information about the complex networks of production and exchange that existed in European Scythia. Scientific analyses produced new data regarding materials and techniques used for the production of wooden, leather and textile objects, providing an opportunity for a more nuanced discussion of their production and consumption.

Large archaeological, organic materials can be difficult to preserve, conserve, and store in their entirety, which is why prioritisation is often necessary. Priority is generally given to recognisable objects rather than smaller fragments. Nevertheless, for archaeological leather, exactly such insignificant fragments can provide new information on the diversity of species exploited. In this pilot study, we use a Citizen Science approach for the first time to identify archaeological leather fragments using the protein-based method Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). By inviting the public to participate in archaeological research, the project's first 52 samples, including both recognisable and unidentifiable objects, were analysed. We show that the participants not only generated good data, but also contributed to current knowledge by identifying two hitherto undescribed animal species for leather in medieval and Renaissance Copenhagen. The finding of deer suggests that Copenhagen citizens now and then had access to game through the nobility and the finding of horse suggests that the unclean status of horses was sometimes overlooked to exploit its hide. Our findings are promising for more identifications and the new knowledge the project will generate. The study calls into question how we prioritise and assign value to cultural heritage materials.

Kulturlag i Ribe har leveret et rigt materiale af lædersko fra 1100-1200-tallet, som har potentiale til at give fornyet indsigt i datidens præferencer for læder samt skomagerhåndværkets udvikling. I denne artikel præsenteres resultatet af artsbestemmelser af i alt 72skodele fortaget ved hjælp af både traditionel hårhulsanalyse og ved metoden ZooMS. ZooMS er en ny naturvidenskabelig metode, der kortlægger proteinet kollagen, som blandt andet findes i hud, og er unikt mellem dyrearter. Analysen viser, at Ribes sko blev fremstillet af skind fra husdyr: ko, får og ged. Ligeledes viser analysen, at skomageren traf meget bevidste valg. Resultaterne tyder på, at skomagerhåndværket allerede i 1100-tallet var specialiseret og nød godt af byernes adgang til råvarer, forbrugere og viden.

In recent years, extensive archaeological studies have provided us with new knowledge on wool and woollen textile production in continental Europe during the Bronze Age. Concentrations of large numbers of textile tools, and of zooarchaeological evidence suggesting intense sheepherding, hint at specialized centres of wool production during the Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether engagement with this economic activity was facilitated by the introduction of new foreign sheep types, possibly from the Eastern Mediterranean, where well-established wool economies existed, or by using local sheep, or a mixture of local and non-local types. A small-scale genetic pilot study, presented in this paper, primarily aimed at testing the DNA preservation, and thus the genomic potential in Bronze Age sheep remains provides evidence of both mitochondrial haplogroups A and B among Bronze Age sheep in Hungary. This result could hint at sheep herds with mixed origin but further in-depth studies are necessary to address this. We aim to promote scholarly interest in the issue and propose new directions for research on this topic.