Story highlights Book uncovers truth behind ancient horsewomen-archers

Rejects claims Amazons cut off breast to fire bow and arrow

'The Silk Road: Past, Present, Future' travels east to west along this ancient trade route, exploring how traditional culture, arts, and trade have developed in the 21st century.

(CNN) History often remembers them as fearsome, war-loving lesbians, who killed baby boys and cut off their own breasts to better fire a bow and arrow.

But just who were the Amazons, these legendary horsewomen-archers depicted across ancient Greece, Egypt, and China?

"Excavations of Eurasian graves have uncovered battle-scarred female skeletons dressed in tunics and trousers, and buried with quivers full of arrows, battle-axes, spears, and horse gear," she told CNN.

They've uncovered battle-scarred female skeletons dressed in tunics and trousers Adrienne Mayor, historian and author

"So we know that genuine warrior women really existed at the time and places reported by the ancient Greeks and other cultures."

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