Hide (skin)

Skins are sometimes still gathered from hunting and processed at a domestic or artisanal level but most leather making is now industrialized and large-scale.

Archaeologists believe that animal hides provided an important source of clothing and shelter for all prehistoric humans and their use continued among non-agricultural societies into modern times.

In early medieval ages hides were used to protect wooden castles and defense buildings from setting alight during a siege.

Parchment and vellum—a kind of paper made from processed skins—was introduced to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Iron Age, supposedly at Pergamon.

The Assize of Weights and Measures—one of the statutes of uncertain date from c. 1300—mentions rawhide, gloves, parchment, and vellum among the principal items of England's commerce.

Ermine fur was particularly associated with European nobility, with the black-tipped tails arranged around the edges of the robes to produce a pattern of black diamonds on a white field.

Demand for beaver hats in the 17th and 18th century drove some of the initial exploration of North America, particularly in Canada, and even prompted wars among native tribes competing for the most productive areas.

Natural leather continues to be used for many expensive products from limousine upholstery to designer cellular phone cases.

Roadblocking and break-ins against meat/fur/leather industry is also used and extends to personal campaigns against such companies and also hunters which have included arson and assault in some cases.