2,700-year-old leather armor proves technology transfer happened in
antiquity

Date:
December 8, 2021
Source:
University of Zurich
Summary:
Researchers have investigated a unique leather scale armor found
in the tomb of a horse rider in Northwest China. Design and
construction details of the armor indicate that it originated in
the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the 6th and 8th century BCE before
being brought to China.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at the University of Zurich have investigated a unique
leather scale armor found in the tomb of a horse rider in Northwest
China. Design and construction details of the armor indicate that it
originated in the Neo- Assyrian Empire between the 6th and 8th century
BCE before being brought to China.


==========================================================================
In 2013, a nearly complete leather scale armor was found in the tomb
of an approx. 30-year-old male near the modern-day city of Turfan in
Northwest China.

This unprecedented find, which survived the millennia thanks to the
area's extremely arid climate, provided the international team led by
Patrick Wertmann from the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies of
the University of Zurich with new insights on the spread of military
technology during the first millennium BCE.

Scale armors protect the vital organs of fighters like an extra layer
of skin without restricting their mobility. The armors were made of
small shield-shaped plates arranged in horizontal rows and sewn onto a
backing. Due to the costly materials and laborious manufacturing process, armors were very precious, and wearing them was considered a privilege
of the elite. It was rare for them to be buried with the owner. However,
the emergence of powerful states with large armies in the ancient world
led to the development of less precious but nevertheless effective armors
made of leather, bronze or iron for ordinary soldiers.

Standard military equipment for horsemen The researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the armor to between 786 and 543 BCE. It
was originally made of about 5,444 smaller scales and 140 larger scales,
which together with leather laces and lining weighed between 4 and
5kg. The armor resembles a waistcoat that protects the front of the torso, hips, the sides and the lower back of the body. It can be put on quickly without the help of another person and fits people of different statures.

"The armor was professionally produced in large numbers," says Patrick Wertmann. With the increasing use of chariots in Middle Eastern warfare,
a special armor for horsemen was developed from the 9th century BCE. These armors later became part of the standardized equipment of military forces
of the Neo- Assyrian Empire, which extended from parts of present-day
Iraq to Iran, Syria, Turkey and Egypt.

Two armors, distinct units While there is no direct parallel to the 2,700-year-old armor in the whole of Northwest China, there are some
stylistic and functional similarities to a second contemporary armor
of unknown origin held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
(the Met). It is possible that the two armors were intended as outfits
for distinct units of the same army, i.e. the Yanghai armor for cavalry
and the armor in the Met for infantry.

It is unclear whether the Yanghai armor belonged to a foreign soldier
working for the Assyrian forces who brought it back home with him, or
whether the armor was captured from someone else who had been to the
region. "Even though we can't trace the exact path of the scale armor
from Assyria to Northwest China, the find is one of the rare actual
proofs of West-East technology transfer across the Eurasian continent
during the early first millennium BCE," says Wertmann.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Zurich. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Patrick Wertmann, Dongliang Xu, Irina Elkina, Regine Vogel,
Ma'eryamu
Yibulayinmu, Pavel E. Tarasov, Donald J. La Rocca, Mayke Wagner. No
borders for innovations: A ca. 2700-year-old Assyrian-style leather
scale armour in Northwest China. Quaternary International, 2021;
DOI: 10.1016/ j.quaint.2021.11.014 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211208090026.htm

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