Frozen for 2,500 years in Siberia’s Altai Mountains, a Pazyryk mummy’s tattoos reveal a world of artistry that would enchant modern tattooists. This mummy belongs to that of a 50-year-old woman whose skin (that was preserved in an icy tomb) bears vivid images of fauna found in her environment. Animals shown on her skin include leopards, a stag and a rooster… but there’s one more creature that’s different from the rest. This creature is mythical in nature with a body that blends both lion and eagle features—tthe legendary griffin. These tattoo designs reflect a scenery where nomadic warrior cultures once roamed the vast steppes between China and Eastern Europe. Today in 2025, new imaging has brought this ancient craft to light, showing the skill of a people who lived bold and free. Before we delve into the symbolism of the mummy’s tattoos, let us first talk about the culture she belonged in. Who Were the Pazyryk People Anyway? First of all, the Pazyryk were Eurasian horse-riding nomads of Scythian stock who thrived from the 6th to the 3rd centuries BCE. They roamed the steppes on sturdy horses and have been known to raid neighboring tribes whilst excelling in warfare. Despite their warrior culture, the Pazyryk have also mastered animal husbandry and held shamanic rituals. Their tombs were deep log-lined chambers capped by massive kurgans that held carpets, wooden saddles and finely wrought metalwork. Now we know their skin tattoo techniques were just as refined. Mummy Unearthed from an Icy Tomb Soviet archaeologists unearthed the 50-year-old Pazyryk mummy woman from frozen graves in the Altai Mountains. This was during anthropologist Sergei Rudenko’s expedition from 1947 to 1949. While faint traces of her tattoos were noted, their full intricacy remained hidden until July 2025. Using sub-millimeter near-infrared imaging at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, researchers uncovered dozens of intricate animal figures and geometric motifs in stunning detail. Dr. Gino Caspari of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology and the University of Bern praised these findings as evidence of a tattooing tradition far more sophisticated than previously imagined. Wild Designs of a Nomad Woman’s Life On the mummy woman’s right forearm depicts a leopard that seems to prowl around a deer’s head in a fierce swirl of motion. Meanwhile, her left arm shows the titular griffin locked in battle with a stag. Having been interviewed by the BBC News, Dr. Caspari told them how he believes that art depicting battles between beasts was held with deep fascination for a warrior culture like the Pazyryk. However, a rooster on her thumb stands out with a unique flair. Dr. Caspari believes this rooster imagery to be personal or sentimental to the mummy woman. To learn how these Pazyryk tattoos were crafted, the research team joined forces with Daniel Riday; a tattooist who recreates ancient designs on his own skin. Riday noted that the mummy’s arms had tattoos that differ in quality. He suggests that different artists may have completed the tattoos, or that there were errors made during the inking process. Ancient Tattoo Art with Modern Grit Riday estimated the right arm’s lower half took four and a half hours, whilst the upper half five more. Daniel Riday was astonished about the dedication the Pazyryk had with their inking, especially if they’ve made the tattoos during harsh weather conditions in the Eurasian steppes. According to Riday, the Pazyryk process demanded someone who was highly skilled in health safety; someone who was aware of the risks when needles pierce skin and how to utilize such tools with brilliant expertise. Researchers believe the Pazyryk used stencils to sketch designs before tattooing. The Pazyryk people likely wielded bone or horn tools with multiple points for broad lines and a single needle for detail. Pigment from burned plants or soot gave the tattoos their lasting hue. Some tattoos bear scars from burial rites, hinting they mattered in life rather than the afterlife. Dr. Caspari speculates that these were badges of honor for the living, tying them to the woman’s warrior identity. Griffins as Noble Emblems With a lion’s raw strength combined with an eagle’s majesty over the skies, the hybrid griffins stood as bold emblems of might and sacred guardianship across Ancient Eurasia. With roots in the art of Mesopotamia’s old kingdoms as well as the Persian Empire’s, the griffin’s symbolism traveled between early Silk Road trails to spark imaginations from Greece to Central Asia. For the Pazyryk, a griffin inked on a warrior’s skin was a badge of their wild hunter-warrior livelihoods with ties to symbolic power. Overall, the mummy woman’s tattoos show the Pazyryk as master artists and fighters; a legacy that mirrors today’s tattoo culture with modern military personnel. Each tattoo mark tells a story of skill and survival that’s preserved through millennia. Top image: One of the several Pazyryk mummies currently housed at the Hermitage Museum. Source: CC BY-SA 4.0. Tattoo depiction of a griffin hunting a stag. Illustrated by Daniel Riday. References:
50,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Remains Found in Siberia
Scientists from Russia’s North-Eastern Federal University have unveiled the remains of a baby mammoth found in the Siberian permafrost. The mammoth is in a remarkable state of preservation, complete with soft tissue and viable DNA. The mammoth is estimated to have died at around a year old some 50,000 years ago, and is an exceptionally rare find. Only six similar discoveries (five in Russia and one in Canada) have been found to date. The mammoth, named “Yana” by the team from North-Eastern Federal University after the area in which she was found, is perhaps the best preserved of the whole bunch, and the team behind the discovery certainly think so. But it is something of a miracle that she was ever recovered at all. The carcass was found in thawing permafrost: having been preserved for tens of thousands of years in permanently frozen subsoils, she was exposed as the layers started to thaw for the first time. Most such remains exposed to the surface are eaten by local animal predators, but in this instance locals managed to save her first. Even the trunk, usually the first part of a mammoth carcass to be eaten by predators, was preserved. The carcass at the point of recovery was almost completely thawed and rapid action needed to be taken to halt any decay of the remains. In all Yana stands some 120cm at the shoulder, and weighs maybe 180kg. She is currently being subjected to a battery of tests to confirm when she died, and to find out as much as possible about her and the environment in which she lived. Mammoths are often touted as the preferred candidate for resurrection using modern science, along the lines of Jurassic Park but sadly without a shirtless Jeff Goldblum. Although such research remains firmly in the realm of science fiction for the moment, in theory mammoth remains such as Yana are exactly what is required to extract the necessary DNA. However the clock is ticking for such discoveries. Global warming has led to a radical thawing of permafrost across the globe, and everything from Incan mummies high in the Andes to other ancient animal remains are starting to thaw, and decay. If this process continues, anything we don’t find in the next decade or so will thaw, rot, and be lost forever. Header Image: The baby mammoth has been named Yana after the river basin in which she was found. Source: North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk/AFP.
