r/ArtefactPorn • u/SixteenSeveredHands • Oct 17 '24
2,300-year-old Horse Headdress from Siberia, c.350-250 BCE: this ceremonial headdress was found on the body of a horse that had been buried in the frozen tombs of Pazyryk, Siberia [4096x5496]
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u/SomeDudeist Oct 17 '24
This is so cool. It must have been really well trained. My sisters horses would be running for their life from the thing on their own head lol. I bet the other horses loved seeing it on their friend too lol
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u/WhiskeyAndKisses Oct 17 '24
Hey, isn't it the same culture as the infamous tatooed siberian princess ? Maybe the tatoo and this headdress could represent the same thing 😮 (I have incredibly poor knowledge of this culture)
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u/Legallyfit Oct 18 '24
I had the same thought! Hopefully someone with more knowledge than us can weigh in 😅
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u/SnooCakes1148 Oct 18 '24
Never someone suggest, but the famous tattoo of princess Ukok could be exactly portrying horse in ceremonial outfit like this one, and not deer or gryphon
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u/snoozatron Oct 18 '24
Now that's an interesting idea!
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u/SnooCakes1148 Oct 18 '24
They often say its stag with flowers on horn, but to me it looks more like this headress with threads on decorative horns
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u/SnooGoats7978 Oct 17 '24
The horse hair tips would have flown like fire with the horses' movement. I wonder if the Ancients of Pazyryk viewed it as representing the sparks of Celestial Fire that were so widely adopted in Asian art. (There's probably an Art History term for thiose streams of divine flame but I forget).
I wonder if that's why deer with extravagant antlers were so important in that part of the world. Their antlers naturally resemble the Celestial Fire.
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u/RBatYochai Oct 17 '24
The coverings for the ears seem very impractical- presumably would impair the horse’s hearing.
The decorative chain thingy seems to be composed mostly of carvings of rams.
So, a deer costume for a horse with sheep ornamentation. I guess this culture was really into hooved herbivores.
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u/helium_farts Oct 17 '24
presumably would impair the horse’s hearing.
Not necessarily a bad thing. Horses spook easily, so some people put ear covers on them to help keep them from getting scared or distracted. It also helps keep biting flies and other insects, as well as water and dirt, out of their ears.
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u/kingofcoywolves Oct 18 '24
I had to stuff horse's ears before riding lessons more than once. Certain horses don't do well with distracting noises, so it helps to muffle them a bit! We used little foam balls that I'm pretty sure were cat toys, but I'm pretty sure there are also actual ear bonnets (usually used to keep out bugs and shit) specifically made to also dampen sound
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u/YesNoMaybePurple Oct 18 '24
I can just imagine how pissed my horse would be if I put this on her. I have a feeling I would be walking home.
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u/SomePoorMurican Oct 18 '24
This is wild, thank you for putting so much effort into your research. Really cool to think about the horses wearing their costumes and what they were used for.
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u/shmackinhammies Oct 18 '24
It's crazy that the fellows bothering Persia, and Darius, especially have burial grounds all the way over there. Just think: this nomad-steppe-horse culture stuck around for millennia leading up to the Mongols adopting it who, in turn, added their twists to it.
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u/snoozatron Oct 18 '24
God, I love the Scythians for their fantastical animal imagery. The rams on the chest piece are pretty cool details.
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u/ender4171 Oct 17 '24
Ah, this just reminded me that I need to lookup when Yellowjackets season 3 is coming out!
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u/big_guyforyou Oct 17 '24
what's fascinating is that these ancient russians managed to evolve from horses to humans in a relatively short time
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u/Rocky_Vigoda Oct 18 '24
Am listening to 3 inches of blood and clicked on this post.
https://youtu.be/JO7TZGgBbOw?si=8OM4GgQa2G-iww8d
This is fairly metal. Reminds me of Slaine: The Horned God which was a great comic.
https://www.howtolovecomics.com/2022/11/30/slaine-the-horned-god/
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u/SixteenSeveredHands Oct 17 '24
The elaborate costume features a pair of "antlers" that were crafted from wood, leather, fur, and dyed horsehair, along with a mask made of blue-colored felt and gold foil. It was unearthed from the Pazyryk Barrows, located in the Altai region of Siberia, where many other Scythian artifacts have been preserved in the permafrost.
You can see more photos of this headdress here and here.
The Scythians were nomadic peoples who once roamed across Eurasia. They were among the very first cultures to begin using horses as mounts, and they invented the earliest form of saddle; their early mastery of mounted warfare enabled them to gain control over vast sections of Eurasia. As nomads, they were also deeply dependent upon their horses, and many traditions and beliefs were developed around that relationship, ultimately giving rise to a very prominent "horse culture."
Scythian warriors were often buried alongside their horses, which were sometimes dressed in elaborate ceremonial costumes that included special masks, headdresses, antlers, horns, bridles, harnesses, and/or saddle blankets.
Few of those costumes were as elaborate as this one, however.
This particular headdress (and the horse that was wearing it) was unearthed from a tomb that also contained the bodies of nine other horses; all of them had been buried with ceremonial bridles, harnesses, and saddle blankets, but this horse had the most elaborate costume by far, and it was the only horse that was actually wearing its costume when it was buried. It was also the oldest horse at the burial site; researchers estimate that it was about 20 years old when it died.
The second-oldest horse (which was about 18 years old) was also buried with a costume that included an elaborate headdress and horns/antlers.
As this article notes:
Sources & More Info: