Archive Note
In 1993 the Russian archaeologist Natalia Polosmak excavated a frozen Pazyryk burial mound on the Ukok Plateau in the Altai and recovered the naturally mummified body of a woman, the Princess of Ukok or Siberian Ice Maiden, preserved by permafrost with her soft tissue and tattoos intact. Her shoulders and arms carry elaborate stylized animal designs, including a deer whose antlers terminate in bird and griffin forms, among the most artistically refined tattoos to survive from the ancient world; the animal-style motifs mirror Pazyryk metalwork and textiles and point to an integrated visual culture. The find reshaped public understanding of ancient body modification and is studied alongside the Pazyryk Chieftain excavated by Sergei Rudenko in the 1940s. The mummy is held at the Anokhin National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk, and Indigenous Altai people have petitioned for her repatriation, viewing her removal as a desecration.