Have you ever seen a 2,500 year-old tattoo?
What would tattoo would look like in today’s modern era?
How can you draw from the past to inspire our future?
In 1993, Novosibirsk scientist Natalia Polosmak took her team on an archaeological expedition in Siberia, Russia, to discover the 2,500 remains of a 25-year-old mummified princess. Known as the “Siberian Ice Maiden,” “Princess of Ukok,” and “Altai Princess,” she stunned researchers when she revealed her dozens of tattoos- well preserved, to say the least.
Now, why am I writing about this? Other than the fact that the story I’m about to dive into is incredibly interesting, I had the honor to have a replica of the Ice Maiden’s tattoo done on my left shoulder. The tattoo was done by the talented tattoo artist, Nathir, or @tattooin.jew, on Instagram.
The Ice Maiden’s Tattoos – Redrawn
Here’s a before & after of the tattoo restored 2,500 years later.
Just kidding. Here’s my arm (the second photo, lol).
Who was the Siberian Ice Maiden?
As one of the most significant archaelogical findings of the 20th century, the “Ice Maiden”, a 2,500-year-old mummy was excavated from her tomb in 1993 during an expedition in the Pazyryk culture in Republic of Altai, Russia. This area can now also be considered Siberia.
Untouched, the subterraean tomb, revealed Scytho-Siberian woman who lived on the Eurasian Steppes in the 5th century BC was found covered in tattoos. She was burried alongside her horses, all of which their heads’ faced east, common practice in that culture.
The Ice Maiden was buried into a solid larch wood tree trunk coffin that decoratively sparkled with deer-shaped leather applicqués. Next to the chamber were two side tables, used to eat food and drink. There was residue of a last meal.
She was buried with a jar of marijuana, leading researchers to believe that she experienced some sort of chronic pain which led to her death. The 25-year-old mummified princess underwent an MRI in 2014, which revealed her cause of death (COD) as breast cancer.
Where was the Princess of Ukok from?
The Ice Maiden was believed to be of the Pazyryk people, a nomadic group from 5th century BC. Their colorful body artwork is known to be apart of the best preveserved and most detailed evcavations of ancient tattoos anywhere in the world.
The Pazyryks were of European descent, nomadic horseman and shepherds who worshiped the Sun, Moon and the animals that are sacredly tattooed on their bodies. The Siberian Ice Maiden, aka the Princess of Ukok is now at Republican National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk, Russia.
Why did the Ice Maiden have so many tattoos?
“Tattoos were used as a mean of personal identification – like a passport now… The Pazyryks believed the tattoos would be helpful in another life, making it easy for the people of the same family and culture to find each other… [animals in types of art] is considered to be like a language of animal images, which represented their thoughts.”
Dr. Polosmak, The Siberian Times
Defining a Princess
What makes the mummy a “princess”? How do archaeologists and researchers know? Is it a hunch? Here’s a quote directly from Dr. Polosmak, the Novosibirsk scientist who exvacated and discovered the mummy in 1993.
“The same can be said about the tattoos – it was a language of animal imagery, used to express some thoughts and to define one’s position both in society, and in the world. The more tattoos were on the body, the longer it meant the person lived, and the higher was his position. For example the body of one man, which was found earlier in the 20th century, had his entire body covered with tattoos. Our young woman – the princess – has only her two arms tattooed. So they signified both age and status.”
Dr. Polosmak, The Siberian Times
Why did I get a 2,500-year-old tattoo replica? Like, really..?
To be honest, the idea sprung when I noticed Nathir’s Facebook post and his peaked interest in doing a replica tattoo. Of course, knowing myself, I went on a few-hour-long journey down the rabbit hole of the internet to discover all I could about the history and excavation, as well as current political climate (ooph, that’s another story) of the mummy.
Driven by context and intellection, I felt compelled to add this piece of history to my body. Not only does it represent a powerful, young (similar-aged) female, but also empowers women & tattoos, self-expression, exessential thinking, hope, and endurance. This woman never made it past her 20’s.
What did I take from this experience?
Although I may only be a little bit Russian, I feel a connection to this nomadic princess and her unknown story. As I continue to research the Ice Maiden and all of her lovely artwork, I will continously update this blog for accuracy.
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