How did medieval Eurasian steppe nomads —Mongols, Xiongnu, Scythians, Huns, Magyars, Turks and more— produce metal weapons and armour? Could they? What did these furnaces look like? How did they supply them? In this first part in a 3-part series, we give an overview on this matter and answer as many of these questions as we can.

Part 2: The Xiongnu to the Türks https://youtu.be/j5ubVPebzQ8
Part 3: The Khitans and Mongol Empire: https://youtu.be/6EdzbNU3zBQ

01:44 Organization of Steppe Societies
03:40 Cities of the Steppe
07:15 Earliest Evidence for Steppe Metallurgy
09:34 Extraction and Production
12:26 Fuel, Charcoal and Estimates


Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lLOBWh1lRINBGlAuedyR5xQEWVolRmCgsvg0GMZw10s/edit?usp=sharing

Bret Deveraux's blog and a useful intro to medieval metal-working: https://acoup.blog/2020/09/18/collections-iron-how-did-they-make-it-part-i-mining/

MET piece on the Scythian metal working: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/from_the_lands_of_the_scythians_ancient_treasures_from_the_museums_of_the_ussr_3000_bc_100_bc_the_metropolitan_museum_of_art_bulletin_v_32_no_5_1973_1974

Growing up in the Golden Horde: https://youtu.be/Qdja8cUejT0
Mongol Tribes: Did they Exist? https://youtu.be/uNMTbhIVCow

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MUSIC ATTRIBUTES:

The other music is provided by Epidemic Sound. http://www.epidemicsound.com

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0:00 Introduction
1:44 ORGANIZATION OF STEPPE SOCIETIES
7:14 The Earliest Evidence for Steppe Metallurgy
12:26 FUEL, CHARCOAL, AND ESTIMATES