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19h ago

High-Resolution Scans Uncover Tattoos on 2,300-Year-Old Pazyryk Ice Mummy

A sub-millimeter near-infrared and 3D imaging study of a 2,300-year-old Pazyryk ice mummy reveals specialized tattoo tools, visible embalming incisions through animal and mythical designs, and fresh insights into Iron Age funerary attitudes.

A selection of tattoos found on the mummy.
Figure 6_ Post-mortem sutured skin cuts through the images indicate that the tattoos did not play a specific role in funerary ritual and possibly lost their meaning when the individual died (figure by G. Caspari & M. Vavulin).
A 3D model of the mummy.
A reconstruction of a tattoo of a horse-like creature.

Overview

  • The study published July 31 in Antiquity reports the first sub-millimeter resolution near-infrared photography combined with 3D scanning of a Pazyryk ice mummy from Siberia’s Altai Mountains.
  • Detailed scans exposed elaborate animal fight scenes and fantastical creatures inked on the forearms and hands of a 50-year-old woman that were invisible to earlier imaging methods.
  • Analysis distinguished thicker lines from multipoint bundles and finer strokes from single-point tools across overlapping layers, indicating multiple sessions and formal tattooing techniques.
  • Researchers documented embalming incisions cutting through many tattoos, suggesting Pazyryk practitioners did not expect body art to carry social or spiritual meaning into the afterlife.
  • No physical tattoo implements have survived, likely due to biodegradable materials, and the team plans to apply high-resolution imaging to additional Pazyryk remains to trace Iron Age tattooing practices.