Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

the way of death
11.9 Herodotus’ description of ritual cannibalism among the Issedones was known to the compiler of the
Mappa Mundi (c. ad 1300) now preserved in Hereford Cathedral. Two Scythians are shown cutting up and
eating the bodies of their dead parents.
as in the case among the Altai communities. This seasonal pattern may have been
conditioned by the transhumance cycle. Exposing the body, for whatever reasons,
required the removal of the entrails to slow down the processes of decay, but the
removal of the brains and muscles as well at Pazyryk might seem a little excessive. As
has been suggested above (p. 296), it could, however, be that they were eaten. In two
passages, referring to the Issedonians and Massagetae, Herodotus describes just such
a procedure. Of the Issedonians he says:
When a man’s father dies, all the near relatives bring sheep to the son’s house, which are
sacrificed and their flesh cut in pieces while at the same time the dead body is similarly
treated. The two sorts of flesh are mixed together and served up as a banquet.
(Hist. iv. 26)
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