Tanning is the process of making raw hides of animals into leather. The word tanning comes from a Latin term “tannare” and is related to a German term “tanna.” This refers to oak or fir that were the original sources of some methods for preserving hides of animals. The skins were processed in a tannery.
When tanning began in ancient times, the whole process was foul smelling. The tanneries were located outside of the towns because of the smells.
South Asians of Mehrgarh were tanning as early as 7000-3300 BC. The Sumarians were using leather as early as 2500 BC.
Many steps were involved in the preparation of the hides.
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Ancient tanners would first soak the hides in water to clean and soften them, since they were usually stiff and soiled.
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Then the hide would be pounded and scoured to remove any fat or tissue that remained.
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Hair was removed from the hide by soaking it in urine, painting it with a lime mixture, or allowing the hide to putrefy in a salt mixture. The hair would then be scraped off using a knife.
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The tanners would then pound dung from dogs or pigeons into the hide or soak them in a solution of animal brains. At times, the dung was mixed with water in a vat, and the tanners would knead the hide until they were soft. This kneading could take 2-3 hours. Dung gatherers were often children. Pots for urine were located on street corners where human urine could be collected for the tanneries’ uses. Washerwomen would usually collect the pots. Remember the smelly tanneries? Now you know why!
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A variation of this was to use cedar oil, alum, or tannin from bark as a tanning agent and apply it to the hide. Then the hides would be stretched, allowed to absorb the agent and lose moisture. If there were any scraps left over, tanners would put the pieces in a vat of water and let them deteriorate for months. After rotting, the mixture was put over a fire to boil off any remaining water. This was how was hide glue was made.
The hide preparation was now completed. The leather was ready to be made into useful products for the people. Ancient uses for this leather included bags, harnesses, waterskins, boots, sandals, armor, etc.
These ancient tanning methods have been replaced with more modern techniques.
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