Long before tattoo shops offered walk-in flash tats and Pinterest boards flooded with minimalist linework, people were getting inked for reasons we’re still figuring out. A Siberian mummy just gave us a fresh clue.
The woman, part of the nomadic Pazyryk culture, was buried in the Siberian permafrost around 300 BCE. Her skin survived the centuries thanks to cold temperatures and early embalming techniques. On her forearms and hands are tattoos of mythical animals and fight scenes, etched so cleanly that researchers just reclassified them as some of the most technically advanced ancient ink ever recorded.
Published in Antiquity, the study used near-infrared digital photography to examine the tattoos in high resolution. What looked like faint lines decades ago are now shown to be uniform, intentional, and created using more than one type of tool. Some lines were done with a single point. Others with what researchers believe was a bundle of sharp tines, likely plant thorns, tied with thread or sinew.
2,500-Year-Old ‘Ice Mummy’ Reveals Remarkably Preserved Tattoos
“This wasn’t a single session with a sharpened stick,” Aaron Deter-Wolf, co-author of the study and an archaeologist with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, told Live Science. The detail in some areas suggests repeat visits, tool changes, and an experienced hand, especially on the woman’s right forearm, where the animal fight scene shows far more precision than her other tattoos.
It’s not clear whether multiple artists worked on her or if one artist came back multiple times. No physical tools have ever been found, probably because they were biodegradable. But the line work suggests this was a practiced technique, not casual body art.
Some tattoos had been cut through during embalming, while others were left untouched. That might mean the tattoos weren’t considered spiritually necessary in the afterlife. Or maybe slicing through them held ritual meaning. Researchers still aren’t sure.
What this mummy gives us, though, is more than art. As tattoo historian Matt Lodder put it, tattoos like these are snapshots of ancient lives. Not just symbols, but choices. Someone took the time to sit down with this woman and create something permanent.
And 2,300 years later, it’s still holding up. Better, honestly, than that faded barbed wire on your uncle’s arm.
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