So who were the real women warriors known as " Amazons "?

Ancient historians located the Amazon homeland in Scythia,

the vast territory stretching from the Black Sea across the steppes of Central Asia.

This immense region was populated by nomadic tribes whose lives centered on horses, archery and warfare.

Their culture flourished for about 1, 000 years beginning around 800 BC.

Feared by Greeks, Persians and the Chinese,

the Scythians left no written records, but we can find clues in how their neighbors described them,

as well as in archaeology.

Scythian s' ancestors were the first to ride horses and they invented the recurve bow.

And because a female mounted archer could be as fast and as deadly as a male,

all children were trained to ride and shoot.

Women hunted and fought alongside men, using the same weapons.

The harsh landscape and their nomadic lifestyle created its own form of equality.