Siberian mummy with tattoos

Since this forumn has been keeping me amused today I thought I'd share one I just found

Researchers estimate the mysterious woman, known as the Ukok princess, was probably 25 years old when she died nearly 2,500 years ago, ABC News reports. She was most likely a member of the Pazyryk tribe, nomads who lived in the Altai mountains of Siberia. Her mummy was discovered in 1993. It was kept preserved in the permafrost, which is why her tattoos are still visible.

Here is the link Pretty cool that her tattoos were still visible after 2,500 years. Real crisp and clear better than some modern one's I've seen.

What I found very interesting is that her tat's were very elaborate. From my link above.

“Compared to all tattoos found by archeologists around the world, those on the mummies of the Pazyryk people are the most complicated and the most beautiful,” Dr. Natalia Polosmak, the lead researcher, told The Siberian Times. “More ancient tattoos have been found, like the Ice Man found in the Alps - but he only had lines, not the perfect and highly artistic images one can see on the bodies of the Pazyryks. It is a phenomenal level of tattoo art. Incredible.”

So the tats on the "Ice Man" were only lines while this woman had some pretty intense work. From the ole wikipedia had to say on the history of tattoos China had some ancient tat work but for apparently different reasons.Wikipedia

OP, thank you so much for sharing this! These tattoos of hers are so amazing! NOTHING like Ice Man's dashes. Granted, I believe this Ukok women is much younger than he, but holy moley, they're spectacular.

I skipped straight to the source, The Siberian Times. They have a lot of photos in the article, plenty of sketches & photos alike of the tattoos from her & the warrior men.
siberiantimes.com...

They're astounding works of art, absolutely astounding. It's amazing how 2,500 year old tattoos look so sharp & intricate like the ones done today.

EDIT: These sketches are from the article I linked:
One of the warrior men's tattoos:


Her tattoos:


And tattoos that are on her fingers:

Just amazing. So beautiful!

Allow me to take this quote out of context for a laugh:

Originally posted by hangedman13
Real crisp... ...better than some modern one's I've seen.

Are we referring to the tattoos or the mummy?

reply to post by Nyiah


Very nice find Niyah A awesome add on to the thread. The detail of her tattoo work was better than I first thought.

She had tattoos on both arms, from shoulders to wrists, with some on the fingers, too. The best preserved of all was a tattoo on her left shoulder, featuring a dear with griffon's beak and a Capricorn's horns. A bit below is a sheep, with a snow leopard by its feet.'

I like the reference to a griffons beak as if it was a actual animal.

great post OP! I can't believe how good they still look after all this time. great detail for the times

Here's another article on the subject, it adds some interesting details :

www.news.com.au...

Buried with the 'princess' were six saddled-and-bridled horses, bronze and gold ornaments - and a small canister of cannabis.

Oops!

Gold, bronze and Cannabis, seems like the Princess brought the essentials for taking on the afterlife.

I wonder what the dots repersent on the male warrior's back? Symbolic or functional?the ice man's tattoos' seemed to be more of a function. I read it was a form of acupuncture used in spots where he had arthritis.


If theyfind some newports I'll take them.

I like the Tattoos. the ones on her back by her lower spine look a lot like acupuncture tattoos. I've seen them before on other ancient mummies like Otzi the iceman.

one thing people need to keep in mind, is that they might not have any meaning at all, maybe they are just to look cool. None of my tattoos really had any meaning when i got them, i just thought they looked cool. Maybe it was the same then as well