Archaeologists have used cutting edge techniques to reveal new information about the intricate tattoos of a woman that lived in Siberia during the Iron Age.
Although the prehistoric remains date from more than 2,000 years ago, the skin, and therefore the tattoos, of mummies from the region’s Pazyryk culture have been preserved in permafrost in the Altai mountains, according to a statement from the journal Antiquity, which published the study, on Thursday.
The tattoos “have long intrigued archaeologists due to their elaborate figural designs,” said study author Gino Caspari, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Bern, in the statement.
However, previous research on the tattoos has been based on early schematic drawings.
“These interpretations lacked clarity regarding the techniques and tools used and did not focus much on the individuals but rather the overarching social context,” said Caspari.
