Quite possibly the most enigmatic and misunderstood of all ancient civilizations, the Scythians are still hotly debated among scholars today. Where did they come from? What was their language? What happened to them? There are no solid answers. They occupied the steppes of Russia and northern coast of the Black Sea near Ukraine. Herodotus gives the most solid information about this nomadic people in ancient times in his Histories and aside from elaborate burials, not much else remains. They built no cities and had no wriiten language. They were a bellicose people who made elaborate cloaks out of the scalps of their enemies and fashioned gold plated cups out of enemies' skulls. Even the women were not considered worthy until they killed someone and are possibly the inspiration for the Greeks' Amazon myth. The Scythians were the first people to domesticate horses and were adept at waging war on horseback as Darius of Persia found out in 514 BC when he tried to invade. They left beautiful gold weapons and jewelry in burial mounds for their kings and left a lot of it. Art Historians are always in awe at the beauty and quantity of Scythian gold art. Burial mounds are the only archaeological remnants of Scythian culture and consisted of the king or tribal leader, his assistant, his concubine, cook and messenger along with all his horses and weapons. Often a year later the tribe would kill 50 youths and bury them in a mound surrounding the original one as an offering. Their religion was shamanistic and superstitious in nature. Of all the ancient civilizations, few can top the Scythians for sheer brutality and fierceness while at the same time producing some of the most beautiful gold artwork the ancient world ever saw. Facsinating!