2,500-year-old Siberian ‘ice mummy’ had intricate tattoos, imaging reveals

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High-resolution imaging of a 2,500-year-old Siberian “ice mummy” has revealed highly intricate tattoos that modern tattooists would find difficult to replicate. The tattoos—featuring leopards, a stag, a rooster, and a mythical griffin—were found on a woman from the Pazyryk culture, a nomadic warrior people of the Eurasian steppe. Using near-infrared scans, researchers discovered crisp, detailed designs likely created with animal bone or horn tools and soot-based pigment. The study suggests tattooing was a skilled, professional practice with cultural significance in life but little role in death, the BBC has reported. The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.