Fur clothing was used by otherhominids (at least theNeanderthals), although their use was probably limited to rudimentary capes based on thermal-modeling[2] studies that indicate the necessity of additional insulation for survival in glacial climates.[1]Rawhide is a simple hide product which stiffens. Formerly used for binding pieces of wood together, it is primarily found indrum skins.
Tanning of hides to manufactureleather was invented during thePaleolithic, with the earliest evidence of hide-processing tools found atHoxne in England[3] andQesem cave, Israel, dating to about 400,000 years ago.[4][5][6]
A leather shoe, discovered at Areni-1 cave in Armenia and dating to approximately 3,500 BCE[9]A 16th-century German parchment-maker
TheAustralian National University's Ian Gilligan wrote that hominids without fur would have needed leather clothing to survive outside the tropics in mid-latitude Eurasia, southern Africa and the Levant during the cold glacial andstadial periods of the Ice Age, and there is archaeological evidence for the use of hide and leather in the Paleolithic.[1] Simple, unmodified stone flakes could have been used to scrape hides for tanning, but scraper tools are more specialized for tasks such as woodworking andhideworking.[1]: 19–20, 37 Both of these stone-tool shapes were invented in theOldowan,[10]: 61, 66–67 but direct evidence for hideworking has not been found before about 400,000 years ago. Examination of microscopic use-wear on scrapers demonstrates they were used to prepare hides at that time at Hoxne in England.[4]
The earliest known bone awls date to 84,000 to 72,000 years ago in South Africa, and their use-wear shows that they were probably used to pierce soft materials such as tanned leather.[11] Bone awls were later made in theAurignacian in Europe, west Asia and Russia, and in Tasmania during theLast Glacial Maximum.[1]: 50–51, 44–45 [10]: 157–158 The earliest eyedsewing needles date to 43,000 to 28,500 years ago (probably at least 35,000 years ago) in southern Siberia, and were used across Paleolithic Eurasia and in North America.[1]: 49 Paleolithic hunters are also known to have targeted fur-bearing animals such as wolves and arctic foxes in Europe, snow leopards in Central Asia, mole-rats in Africa, and red-necked wallabies in Tasmania.[1]: 45–48
Asanimal husbandry was introduced during theNeolithic, human communities had a steady source of hides. The oldest confirmed leather-tanning tools were found in ancientSumer and date to approximately 5000 BCE.[12] The oldest surviving piece of leather footwear is theAreni-1 shoe which was made inArmenia around 3500 BCE. Another (possibly older) piece of leather was found inGuitarrero Cave in northern Peru, dating to theArchaic period.[10]: 340
The first written references to leather are documented fromAncient Egypt around 1300 BCE.[13] Archaeologists have discovered evidence of tanned and treated animal skins inBadarian and pre-dynastic Egyptian graves.[14]: 33 Artistic depictions of leather-working appear in tombs as early as the Fifth Dynasty.[14]: 34–35 The archaeological record of the Nile Valley provides examples of the development of methods of tanning and treating hides and skins which include drying, smoke- and salt-curing, and softening with fat, urine, dung, brain, and oils.[14]: 34
Medieval leather-working techniques persist;saddlery andupholstery are examples.
During theMiddle Ages, leather-craft developed through organizedguild systems which standardized production methods and quality control across Europe. Archaeological excavations at sites such asNorwich,Dublin andYork have revealed evidence of specialized tanning quarters with organized workshops, indicating the establishment of dedicated industrial areas for hide processing.[15]
The medieval tanning process was labor-intensive and time-consuming, typically requiring 12 to 18 months to complete. The process involved multiple stages: initial hide preparation through soaking and hair removal, treatment with lime solutions, and gradual tanning using oak-bark extracts in increasingly-concentrated solutions. This vegetable-tanning method produced durable leather suitable for a number of applications including footwear, armor, book bindings, and household items.[16]
Specialized leather products were developed during this period which includedwelt shoes andturnshoes, representing advances in footwear construction. Refined-leather types such assuede andnubuck were also introduced, demonstrating the increasing sophistication of medieval leather-working techniques.[17][18]
TheIndustrial Revolution brought fundamental changes to leather production through mechanization and chemical innovation. Steam-powered machinery replaced manual labor for many processes, and new chemical treatments increased the efficiency of tanning methods.Patent leather production began in 1793[19] and was commercialized in the United States by 1819, based on an adaptation of European production methods.[20][21]
A major advancement in hide processing occurred in 1858[22] with the invention of chromium tanning by German technologistFriedrich Knapp and Swedish scientistCarl Hyltén-Cavallius; American chemist Augustus Schultz firstpatented the process using alkalinechromium(III) sulfate as the tanning agent.[23][24] This process reduced tanning time from months to days and produced leather with different properties than traditional vegetable tanning, including increased water resistance and flexibility.[25] By the 20th century, chromium tanning accounted for approximately 85% of all leather manufacturing.[26][27]
Contemporary leather production employs traditional vegetable tanning and modern chromium processes, with increased attention toenvironmental sustainability.[28][29][30] Alternative tanning methods using synthetic materials and plant-based chemicals have been developed to address environmental concerns associated with chromium processing.[31] Modern leather has applications in the automotive, fashion, furniture, and specialty industries, with quality standards and production methods regulated by international organizations.[32][33] Several kinds ofsynthetic leather have been developed during the 20th and 21st centuries as alternatives to animal-derived materials, driven by cost considerations, ethical concerns, and performance requirements in specific applications.
Industrial leather dyeing duringWorld War I, showing mechanized production methods
Traditional tanning methods continue in some regions, as evidenced by this tanner inMarrakesh.
^abKeeley, L. H. (1980).Experimental determination of stone tool uses: A microwear analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 128–151.ISBN0-226-42889-3.
^Henshilwoood, C. S.; d'Errico, F.; Marean, C. W.; Milo, R. G.; Yates, R. (2001). "An early bone tool industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for the origins of modern human behaviour, symbolism and language".Journal of Human Evolution.41 (6): 662.Bibcode:2001JHumE..41..631H.doi:10.1006/jhev.2001.0515.PMID11782112.
^Gromer, Karina; Russ-Popa, Gabriela; Saliari, Konstantina (2017). "Products of animal skin from Antiquity to the Medieval Period".Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie A für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie.119:69–93.ISSN0255-0091.JSTOR26342924.
^Yeomans, Lisa (2007). "The shifting use of animal carcasses in medieval and post-medieval London".Breaking and Shaping Beastly Bodies: Animals as Material Culture in the Middle Ages. Oxbow Books:98–115.
^Harjula, Janne; Hansen, Gitte; Ashby, Steven P.; Baug, Irene (2015). "Tracing the nameless actors. Leatherworking and production of leather artefacts in the town of Turku and Turku Castle, SW Finland".Everyday Products in the Middle Ages: Crafts, Consumption and the Individual in Northern Europe. Oxbow Books:185–203.
^Gao, Dangge; Ma, Jianzhong; Lv, Bin; Zhang, Jing (2013). "Collagen modification using nanotechnologies: a review".Journal of the American Leather Chemists Association.108 (10):355–365.
