Hides

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Hides

Hides are skin

Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
s obtained from animals for human use. Examples of animal hide sources are deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae . A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order even-toed ungulate are often also called deer....
and cattle

Cattle

Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domestication ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat , dairy products , leather and as draft animals ....
typically used for producing leather

Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
, alligator

Alligator

An Alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicization form of the Spanish language el lagarto , the name by which early Spain explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator....
skins, snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
skins for shoes and fashion accessories and wild cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
s, mink

Mink

There are two living species of mink: the American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but is much larger....
s and bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
s, whose skins are primarily sought for their fur. In India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
leather is produced from cattle hides at home/ small scale but most leather making is done on a large scale. Various tannin

Tannin

Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and Precipitation or shrink proteins. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following the consumption of red wine or an unripened fruit....
s are used for this purpose. Leather from processed hides finds a variety of uses from shoes and clothing to furniture and sometimes wall or surface coverings.
ropologists believe that animal hides provided an important source of clothing

Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
for prehistoric humans.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Hides'

Start a new discussion about 'Hides'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Hides are skin

Skin

Deer

Cattle

Leather

Alligator

Snake

Cat

Mink

There are two living species of mink: the American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but is much larger....
s and bear

Bear

India

Tannin

History

Anthropologists believe that animal hides provided an important source of clothing

Clothing

Hut (dwelling)

A hut is a small and crude shelter, usually used for dwelling. Its design favors local techniques and materials to allow for swift and inexpensive construction....
by primordial peoples. Hides of animals were also used for tents in the months of summer by Inuit people.

Many American Indians used animal hides to build houses such is tepees and wigwam

Wigwam

A wigwam or wickiup is a domed single-room dwelling used by certain Indigenous peoples of the Americas tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in Southwestern United States and West....
s. The Arctic Indians also used this material for waterproof clothes and kayak

Kayak

A kayak is a small human-powered boat. It typically has a covered deck, and a cockpit covered by a spraydeck. The kayak was used by the native Ainu people, Aleuts and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland....
s as well as for their houses.

Until the invention of plastic drumheads

Drumhead

A drumhead is a diaphragm_ stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands so that it oscillation and the sound resonance through the drum....
in the 1950's, animal hides were used.

Animal hides have always been used as a status symbol. Fur was used to demonstrate wealth, both by ancient kings and modern people. Natural leather is used in many expensive products, including limousines and designer mobiles phones.

Production

Animal hides are stretched, dried and tanned. It is more cost-effective today to raise animals in captivity and then kill them. Large farms exists raising mink and rabbit for fur while much fox, lynx

Lynx

A lynx is any of four medium-sized wild Felidae. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis....
, wolf and other animals are trapped

Trapping (Animal)

The activity of animal trapping has two separate but related meanings. It describes the hunting of mammals to obtain their furs, which are then used for clothes and other articles, or sold / bartered ....
for fur.

Sable

Sable

The sable is a small carnivorous mammal, closely related to the martens. It inhabits taiga environments primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaido in Japan....
fur is produced in China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and is one of the most expensive.

Use

Fur and hides find their main use today as clothing, particularly coat

Coat

Coat can refer to any one of the following: *Coat , an article of clothing for humans.*Coat , the fur coat of an animal.*Coat of arms, a heraldic design used to identify a nation, city, family, or individual....
s. They are valued for their warmth, and as a status symbol. Ermine

Ermine

Ermine has several meanings:-*The name for the stoat when it is in its white winter pelage; in North America also the most usual common name for the species, though it is also called the short-tailed weasel)....
fur was historically popular in ceremonial clothes of European monarchs. The black-tipped tails were arranged around the edges of robes, producing the familiar pattern of black diamonds on a white field. Because of this use, "ermine" became a term in heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
, to mean a white field strewn with small bell-shaped designs called ermine-spots.

Hides have also been used to build canoe

Canoe

A canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes usually are pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be covered....
s and tents, as simple window panes, and as material for writing. For example, many medieval books were written on vellum parchment. Many drums

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
, specially hand drums like the pandeiro

Pandeiro

The pandeiro , is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes....
have their skin made from hides.

The fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur....
led to the opening of the interior of the North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n continent. In particular, the popularity of beaver

Beaver

Beavers are two primarily nocturnal, semi-aquatic species of rodent, one native to North America and one to Eurasia. They are known for building dams, canals, and lodges ....
hats in Europe in the 17th and 18th century led to displacement of native tribes, several inter-tribal wars and the eventual near-eradication of the beaver.

Rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genus in the family taxonomy as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit ....
fur is a popular material to make hats, coats and glove linings.

Controversy

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings....
activists protest use of animal hides in clothing. They use a variety of tactics from persuasion (a campaign with celebrities posing naked with a slogan "I would rather go naked than wear fur") to coercion (spraying people wearing fur clothes with paint, typically red in imitation of blood).

There are many artificial replacements for animal hides, including artificial fur and artificial leather. Their quality and the quality of other replacements is considered comparable to that of the natural product.