Warriors Die Young: Increased Mortality in Early Adulthood of Scythians from Glinoe, Moldova, Fourth through Second Centuries bc

Abstract

Scythians were nomadic groups who played a dominant role on the Eurasian steppes in the Early Iron Age according to many archaeological and historical sources. In this paper, we assess demographic features and dynamics of a Scythian population from the Black Sea region. We hypothesize that they differed from other societies in terms of not only culture but also demography: their fertility was lower, and life expectancy higher, than in other contemporaneous populations. We examined 220 skeletons from Glinoe (Moldova), dated to the fourth to second centuries bc, to assess fertility and biological status from life table parameters and basic indicators of reproductive potential. The main difference between Scythians and other Early Iron Age societies seems to be a higher probability of dying in early adulthood, which could partly result from their engagement in warfare. Scythian fertility was rather low, a finding in line with studies of modern nomads.