The tanner, illustration from 1880, from a book describing various professions
Illustration of tanning, from a book published in the 17th century
Tanning is the process of turning animal skin (often called "hide") into leather. Tanning makes the skin tougher and often changes its color. Tanning helps make the animal skin become more flexible and less vulnerable to bacteria damage.
Before tanning an animal skin, the animal must be killed and skinned before the body heat of the animal leaves the animal's body. Next, tissue on the inside of the skin and hairs on the outside are removed. Salt in the skin is removed and the skins are soaked in water ffor six hours to two days.