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Impossibly Intricate Tattoos Found on 2,000-Year-Old ‘Ice Mummy’
Researchers have finally been able to examine the intricate tattoos of a 2,000-year-old mummified body discovered in Siberia. The stunning images, which would be challenging even for modern tattoo artists to replicate, reveal the Pazyryk people, who lived between China and Europe, had an incredibly sophisticated understanding of tattooing as an art form.
According to scientists, the tattoos are incredibly intricate and detailed, with designs that resemble leopards, stags, roosters, and a mythical half-lion, half-eagle creature. The researchers were able to examine the tattoos using infrared imaging technology, which allowed them to visualize the previously unknown designs.
The discovery is significant because it offers insights into the societal implications of tattooing in ancient Siberia. According to Gino Caspari, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Bern, âTattooing emerges not merely as symbolic decoration but rather as a specialized craft that required building skills and formal training or apprenticeshipâ.
The findings suggest that ancient tattoo artists possessed a significant degree of skill, implying that tattooing was an esteemed profession. This understanding can aid in better comprehension of the role of tattooing in prehistoric cultures.
What’s more fascinating is that researchers have discovered evidence that suggests that different tattooers were involved in creating the tattoos on the mummyâs right and left arms, indicating that the practice was not just a matter of individual expression but rather a communal art form.
Source: gizmodo.com
