2,500-year-old Siberian 'ice mummy' had intricate tattoos, imaging reveals
4 days ago Share Save Georgina Rannard Science correspondent Share Save
G Caspari and M Vavulin Scans of the ice mummy's skin revealed details of animals and birds on her arms and hands
High-resolution imaging of tattoos found on a 2,500 year old Siberian "ice mummy" have revealed decorations that a modern tattooist would find challenging to produce, according to researchers. The intricate tattoos of leopards, a stag, a rooster, and a mythical half-lion and half-eagle creature on the woman's body shed light on an ancient warrior culture. Archaeologists worked with a tattooist, who reproduces ancient skin decorations on his own body, to understand how exactly they were made. The tattooed woman, aged about 50, was from the nomadic horse-riding Pazyryk people who lived on the vast steppe between China and Europe.
Daniel Riday An illustration of the tattoo on the woman's right forearm revealed in new scans
The scans revealed "intricate crisp and uniform" tattooing that could not be seen with the naked eye. "The insights really drive home to me the point of how sophisticated these people were," lead author Dr Gino Caspari from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Bern, told BBC News. It is difficult to uncover detailed information about ancient social and cultural practices because most evidence is destroyed over time. It is even harder to get up close to the details of one person's life. The Pazyryk "ice mummies" were found inside ice tombs in the Altai mountains in Siberia in the 19th century, but it has been difficult to see the tattoos.
Daniel Riday An illustration of the tattoo on the woman's left forearm revealed in new scans
Now using near-infrared digital photography in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia experts have created high resolution scans of the decorations for the first time. "This made me feel like we were much closer to seeing the people behind the art, how they worked and learned. The images came alive," Dr Caspari said. On her right forearm, the Pazyryk woman had an image of leopards around the head of a deer.
Getty Images The Pazyryk were a nomadic group that lived in the Altai mountains
On the left arm, the mythical griffin creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle appears to be fighting with a stag. "Twisted hind bodies and really intense battle scenes of wild animals are typical of the culture," Dr Caspari said. But the woman also had a rooster on her thumb, showing "an intriguing style with a certain uniqueness," says Dr Caspari. The team worked with researcher Daniel Riday who reproduces ancient tattoo designs on his body using historical methods.
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