Editing Huns (section)

==Material culture==
There are two sources for the material culture of the Huns: ancient descriptions and archaeology. Roman descriptions of the Huns are often highly biased, stressing the Huns' supposed primitiveness.{{sfnm|1a1=Man|1y=2005|1p=79 |2a1=Maenchen-Helfen|2y=1973|2pp=9–17}} Unfortunately, the nomadic nature of Hun society means that they have left very little in the archaeological record.{{sfn|Thompson|1996|pp=6–7}} It can be difficult to distinguish Hunnic archaeological finds from those of the Sarmatians, as both peoples lived in close proximity and seem to have had very similar material cultures. Kim thus cautions that it is difficult to assign any artifact to the Huns ethnically.{{sfn|Kim|2015|p=166-167}}

===Cauldrons===
[[File:Klosz Gyorgy hun.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|A Hunnish [[cauldron]]]]
Archaeological finds have produced a large number of cauldrons that have since the work of Paul Reinecke in 1896 been identified as having been produced by the Huns.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=306}} Although typically described as "bronze cauldrons", the cauldrons are often made of copper, which is generally of poor quality.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=321–322}} Maenchen-Helfen lists 19 known finds of Hunnish cauldrons from all over Central and Eastern Europe and Western Siberia.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=307-318}} He argues from the state of the bronze castings that the Huns were not very good metalsmiths, and that it is likely that the cauldrons were cast in the same locations where they were found.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=320}} They come in various shapes, and are sometimes found together with vessels of various other origins.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=323}} Maenchen-Helfen argues that the cauldrons were cooking vessels for boiling meat,{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=326}} but that the fact that many are found deposited near water and were generally not buried with individuals may indicate a sacral usage as well.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=327–330}} The cauldrons appear to derive from those used by the Xiongnu.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2015|1p=6 |2a1=Maenchen-Helfen|2y=1973|2p=337}}

===Clothing===
Good descriptions of Hun period clothing, known from contemporary Central Asian burials to have probably been the [[khalat]], are lacking in Greco-Roman sources.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|p=119}} The East Roman historian Priscus reports seeing a Greek merchant who he took for a Hun due to his wearing "Scythian" clothing; this appears to show that the Huns wore a distinct outfit that was part of ethnic identification.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|p=116}} Ammianus reports that the Huns wore clothes made of linen or the furs of mice and leggings of goatskin, which they did not wash.{{sfn|Thompson|1996|p=47}} While the use of furs and linen may be accurate, the description of the Huns in dirty animal skins and wearing the skins of mice is clearly derived from negative stereotypes and [[literary topos|topoi]] about primitive barbarians.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|pp=115-116}} Priscus also mentions the use of various expensive and rare animal furs, and mentions the handmaidens of Attila's queen [[Kreka]] weaving decorative linen.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|pp=117, 119}}

Using finds from modern Kazakhstan, archaeologist Joachim Werner has described Hunnic clothing as probably consisting of knee-length, sleeved [[Smock-frock|smock]]s (the khalat), which were sometimes made of [[silk]], as well as trousers and leather boots.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|pp=116-117}} [[Saint Jerome]] and Ammianus both describe the Huns as wearing a round cap that was probably made of [[felt]].{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=171-172}} Because nomadic clothing had no need for [[brooch]]es, the absence of this otherwise common item in some Barbarian burials may indicate Hunnic cultural influence.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=389, 398}} According to Maenchen-Helfen, the Huns' shoes were likely made of sheep's leather.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=171}} The Bántapuszta figurine is wearing high, bulky boots that are connected to the warrior's chainmail by straps, of a type also described by Priscus.{{sfn|Takáts|1963|p=241-244}}

===Artistic decoration===
{{further|Hunnic art}}
[[File:Hunnish - Fibula - Walters 57558.jpg|thumb|left|A Hunnish oval openwork fibula set with a carnelian and decorated with a geometric pattern of gold wire, 4th century, [[Walters Art Museum]]]]
Jewelry and weapons attributed to the Huns are often decorated in a [[polychrome]], [[cloisonné]] style.{{sfn|Kim|2015|p=170}}
Archaeologist [[Joachim Werner (archaeologist)|Joachim Werner]] argued that the Huns developed a unique "Danubian" style of art that combined Asiatic goldsmithing techniques with the enormous amount of gold given as tribute to the Huns by the Romans; this style then influenced European art.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|p=38, 354}} In the 1970s, A. K. Ambroz argued that the polychrome style originated with the Huns; however, more recent archaeological discoveries show that it predates their arrival in Europe.{{sfn|Bitner-Wróblewska|Pesch|Przybyła|2020|p=258}} Warwick Ball, moreover, argues that the decorated artifacts of the Hunnish period were probably made by local craftsmen for the Huns rather than by the Huns themselves.{{sfn|Ball|2021|p=196}}

A now headless copper-plated Hun-period figurine discovered at Bántapuszta near [[Veszprém]], Hungary, shows a man in armor whose pants and collars have been decorated by ringlets.{{sfn|Takáts|1963|p=241}} Archaeological finds indicate that the Huns wore gold plaques as ornaments on their clothing, as well as imported glass beads.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=354–356}} The golden plaques were probably used to decorate the hems of both male and female festive clothing; this fashion seems to have been adopted both by the Huns and East Germanic elites.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=388}} Both men and women have been found wearing shoe buckles made of gold and jewels in Eastern Europe, but of iron or bronze in Central Asia; the golden shoe buckles are also found in non-Hunnic graves in Europe.{{sfn|Anke|2010|p=516}}

[[File:Hunnish - Bracelet - Walters 571082 - Detail Front.jpg|thumb|Detail of Hunnish gold and garnet bracelet, 5th century, [[Walters Art Museum]]]]
Both ancient sources and archaeological finds from graves confirm that the Hunnic women wore elaborately decorated golden or gold-plated [[diadem]]s.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=297}} These diadems, as well as elements of [[bonnet (headgear)|bonnet]]s, were probably symbols of rulership.{{sfn|Anke|2010|p=516}} Women are also found buried with small mirrors of an originally Chinese type, which often appear to have been intentionally broken when placed into a grave.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=352–354}} Hunnic women seem to have worn necklaces and bracelets of mostly imported beads of various materials as well.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=357}} Men are often found buried with single or paired [[earring]]s and, unusually for a nomadic people, bronze or golden [[neck ring]]s.{{sfn|Anke|2010|p=516}}

===Tents and dwellings===
Ammianus reports that the Huns had no buildings,{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=178}} but in passing mentions that the Huns possessed tents and also lived in wagons.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=12}} No tents or wagons have been found in Hunnic archaeological contexts as they were evidently not buried with the deceased.{{sfn|Anke|2010|p=521}} Maenchen-Helfen believes that the Huns likely had "tents of felt and sheepskin": Priscus once mentions Attila's tent, and Jordanes reports that Attila lay in state in a silk tent.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=179}} However, by the middle of the fifth century, Priscus mentions that the Huns owned permanent wooden houses, which Maenchen-Helfen believes were built by their Gothic subjects.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=179–180}}

===Bows and arrows===
[[File:02019 0565 Reflexbogen, Fürsten-Grab von Jakuszowice.jpg|thumb|A ceremonial "Hun-style" reflex bow reconstructed from sheet gold found in a nomad burial at Jakuszowice, modern Poland.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=379, 383-384}}]]
Ancient Roman sources stress the importance of the bow to the Huns,{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=221}} and it was the Huns' main weapon.{{sfn|Kazanski|2018|p=408}} The Huns used a composite or reflex bow of what is often called the "Hun-type", a style that had spread to all steppe nomads on the Eurasian steppe by the beginning of the Hun period.{{sfn|Symonenko|2017}} They measured between 120 and 150 centimeters. Examples are vary rare in the archaeological record, with finds in Europe clustering on the Pontic steppe and Middle Danube region.{{sfn|Kazanski|2018|p=408}} The rarity of surviving examples means that making precise statements about the advantages of this weapon is challenging.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=383}} The bows were difficult to construct and probably objects of great value: They were made out of a flexible wood, strips of either antler or bone, and animal sinew.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|pp=383-384}} The bone used to strengthen the bow made it more durable but probably less powerful.{{sfn|Rumschlag|2016|p=83}} The graves of figures identified as "princes" among the Huns have been found buried with golden, ceremonial bows in a wide area from the Rhine to the Dnieper.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2013|1p=203 |2a1=Rodzińska-Nowak|2y=2020|2p=384}} Bows were buried with the object placed across the chest of the deceased.{{sfn|Rumschlag|2016|p=82-83}}

The bows shot larger arrows than the earlier "Scythian type" bows, with the appearance of iron, three-lobed arrowheads in the archaeological record taken as a sign of their spread.{{sfn|Symonenko|2017}} Ammianus, while recognizing the importance of Hunnic bows, does not appear well informed about them and claims, among other things, that the Huns only used bone-pointed arrows.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=221-222}}

===Riding gear===
Riding equipment and harnesses are frequent finds from Hun-period burials.{{sfn|Kazanski|2013|p=513}} The Huns did not have [[spur]]s, and so used whips to drive their horses; the handles of such whips have been found in nomad graves.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=206}} The Huns have customarily been considered the inventors of a wooden framed [[saddle]].{{sfn|Symonenko|2017}} Maenchen-Helfen, for instance, argued that the surviving ornamentation from nomad graves dating to the Hun period showed that the saddles must have had a wooden frame.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=209-210}} However, Oleksandr Symonenko argues more recent work has shown that the Huns still used an earlier style of saddle made of padding.{{sfn|Symonenko|2017}}

The Huns are also commonly credited with having introduced the [[stirrup]] to Europe.{{sfn|Crossley|2023}} These appear to have been used by other Xiongnu successor groups in Asia from the 5th century CE onward.{{sfn|Rumschlag|2016|p=80}} However, no stirrups have been found in Hunnic burials, nor is there any textual evidence of their use.{{sfnm|1a1=Kazanski|1y=2013|1p=514 |2a1=Rumschlag|2y=2016|2p=85}} Maenchen-Helfen also argues against the Huns having used stirrups, on the grounds that there is no evidence for their use after the end of the Hun empire even though they could easily have been copied by subject peoples.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=206}} Without stirrups, the Huns would not have had the stability to fight in close combat on horseback and thus appear to have preferred fighting using bows and arrows.{{sfn|Kazanski|2013|p=513}} The lack of stirrups would have required special techniques for firing arrows from horseback.{{sfn|Rumschlag|2016|p=86}}

===Armor===
Defensive equipment and [[chainmail]] are rare finds in Hunnic period graves.{{sfn|Kazanski|2013|p=513}} Ammianus makes no mention of any use of armor among the Huns.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=241}} However, it is believed that the Huns made use of [[lamellar armor]], a style of armor popular among steppe nomads during this time.{{sfn|Symonenko|2017}} Metal armor was probably a rarity.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=241}} The Huns may have used a type of helmet known as the [[Spangenhelm]], but Hunnic nobles may have worn helmets of various types.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=252-253}}

===Swords and other weapons===
[[File:02019 0566 (2) Spatha of Jakuszowice.jpg|thumb|A spatha buried in a Hun-period grave with a nomadic background from Jakuszowice in modern Poland.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=379}}]]
Ammianus reports that the Huns used iron swords,{{sfn|Thompson|1996|p=59}} and ceremonial swords, daggers, and decorated scabbards are frequent finds in Hun-period burials.{{sfn|Kazanski|2013|p=513}} Additionally, [[pearl]]s are often found with swords; these decorative elements may have had a religious meaning.{{sfn|Anke|2010|pp=518-519}} Beginning with Joachim Werner, archaeologists have argued that the Huns may have originated the fashion of decorating swords with [[cloisonné]];{{sfn|Kim|2015|p=170}} however, Philip von Rummel argues these swords show strong Mediterranean influence, are rare in the Carpathian Basin from the Hun period, and may have been produced by Byzantine workshops.{{sfn|von Rummel|2007|pp=346-348}}

Thompson is skeptical that the Huns could cast iron themselves,{{sfn|Thompson|1996|p=59}} but Maenchen-Helfen argues that "[t]he idea that the Hun horsemen fought their way to the walls of Constantinople and to the Marne with bartered and captured swords is absurd."{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=12}} One characteristic sword used by the Huns and their subject peoples was the narrow-bladed long [[seax]].{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=396}} Since the work of J. Werner in the 1950s, many scholars have believed that the Huns introduced this type of sword to Europe.{{sfn|Kiss|2014|pp=132-133}} In the earliest versions, these swords seem to have been shorter, stabbing weapons.{{sfn|Kiss|2014|p=135}}
The Huns, along with the Alans and the Eastern Germanic peoples, also used a type of sword known as an East Germanic or Asian {{lang|la|[[spatha]]}}, a long, double-edged iron sword with an iron cross-guard.{{sfn|Rodzińska-Nowak|2020|p=379}} These swords would have been used to cut down enemies who had already been driven to flight by the Huns' volleys of arrows.{{sfn|Kazanski|2013|p=513}} Roman sources also mention [[lasso]]s as weapons used at close range to immobilize opponents.{{sfn|Heather|2005|p=157}}

Some Huns or their subject peoples may also have carried heavy [[lance]]s, as is attested for some Hunnic mercenaries in Roman sources.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=239}}