We revisit the old idea of constructing difference sets from cyclotomic
classes. Two constructions of skew Hadamard difference sets are given in the
additive groups of finite fields using unions of cyclotomic classes of order
N=2p1m, where p1 is a prime and m a positive integer. Our main tools
are index 2 Gauss sums, instead of cyclotomic numbers.Comment: 15 pages; corrected a few typos; to appear in J. Combin. Theory (A