Pazyryk Mummies and The Iceman: Difference between pages

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[[File:PzyrykMummy1.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Tattooed Pazyryk Mummy]]
'''The Iceman''', named Ötzi after the Ötzal region where he was found, is possibly the most famous mummified corpse in the world. Stumbled upon on September 19, [[1991]] by two climbers high in the Alps, they originally thought they had found the remains of an unfortunate mountaineer. The authorities to whom they reported the find also believed him to be modern, and this led to a level of carelessness in recovering the corpse that would never have been displayed otherwise. A jackhammer, ice-picks, even what turned out to be the Iceman's ancient bow were used to pry him from the glacier before he was forced into a coffin,
[[File:PzyrykMummy2.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Tattooed Pazyryk Mummy]]
which resulted in yet more damage.


Between 1929 and 1949, and [[1990]] and [[1995]], excavations in the Altai region of Siberia uncovered a number of graves. These burials lent their name to the region, Pazyryk, after the local word for 'burial mound'. Dating to around 400BC, they contained extensive grave goods and several bodies, which were superbly preserved as a result of deliberate embalming and having lain in the frozen ground for almost 2500 years.
When the Iceman's age was finally ascertained, it made him the oldest frozen mummy ever found, dating from approximately [[3300 BC]].


Two of these bodies, a male and a female, are tattooed. The vivid blue tattoos are well-executed and extremely detailed, showing various animals and mythical creatures. The depth of skin into which the ink was placed suggests that a skin-pricking method was used to create them, as opposed to the sewing-in of patterns which was customary among the [[Inuit]] and various Siberian tribes. The tattoos are located on the shoulders, arms, and legs of the mummies. It is not fully understood whether they served a purely decorative purpose, a magical/protective one, or both.
Inspection revealed several markings on the Iceman's skin. Arranged in 15 discrete groups at various locations on his body, they are simple geometric shapes such as lines and crosses. The back of his left knee is [[Tattoo|tattooed]] with some small crosses, and he has short lines on his ankle, two long lines across the front of his wrist, and five groups of lines down the lumbar region of his spine. The markings would not have indicated status, as nearly all of them could be covered by clothing. Their accepted purpose is that they were used in a therapeutic capacity. Almost all of the tattoos correspond to acupuncture points. X-rays showed that the Iceman suffered from rheumatism in the particular joints which were tattooed over, and the tattoos would have been part of his treatment.


The Pazyryk were closely related to the Scythian people.
While the markings on the Iceman are generally referred to as tattoos, they are more specifically a form of [[Ink rubbing]]. A healer or shaman would have made incisions over the afflicted areas and placed medicinal herbs into the wounds. The herbs were then burnt, fulfilling a double function in that the charred residue coloured the skin and the heat helped to cauterize the wound.


The tattoos in these pictures were discovered by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia using infrared photography, which later showed that many ancient mummies were extensively tattooed. From a historical point of view, one could make the argument that the periods of Western culture in which tattooing is rare are the unusual periods, rather than the other way around!
== See Also ==


{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align: center;"
| [[File:PzyrykMummy3.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Shoulder Tattoo (male, shoulder, as seen above)]]
| [[File:PzyrykMummy4.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Bird Tattoo (male, hand)]]
| [[File:PzyrykMummy5.jpg|thumb|right|60px|Multi-figure Tatoo (female, forearm)]]
|}
== See Also ==
* [[Egyptian Mummies]]
* [[Egyptian Mummies]]
* [[Greenland Mummies]]
* [[Greenland Mummies]]
* [[The Iceman]]
* [[Pazyryk Mummies]]
* [[Scythian Chieftain]]
* [[Scythian Chieftain]]

Latest revision as of 19:32, 25 September 2023

The Iceman, named Ötzi after the Ötzal region where he was found, is possibly the most famous mummified corpse in the world. Stumbled upon on September 19, 1991 by two climbers high in the Alps, they originally thought they had found the remains of an unfortunate mountaineer. The authorities to whom they reported the find also believed him to be modern, and this led to a level of carelessness in recovering the corpse that would never have been displayed otherwise. A jackhammer, ice-picks, even what turned out to be the Iceman's ancient bow were used to pry him from the glacier before he was forced into a coffin, which resulted in yet more damage.

When the Iceman's age was finally ascertained, it made him the oldest frozen mummy ever found, dating from approximately 3300 BC.

Inspection revealed several markings on the Iceman's skin. Arranged in 15 discrete groups at various locations on his body, they are simple geometric shapes such as lines and crosses. The back of his left knee is tattooed with some small crosses, and he has short lines on his ankle, two long lines across the front of his wrist, and five groups of lines down the lumbar region of his spine. The markings would not have indicated status, as nearly all of them could be covered by clothing. Their accepted purpose is that they were used in a therapeutic capacity. Almost all of the tattoos correspond to acupuncture points. X-rays showed that the Iceman suffered from rheumatism in the particular joints which were tattooed over, and the tattoos would have been part of his treatment.

While the markings on the Iceman are generally referred to as tattoos, they are more specifically a form of Ink rubbing. A healer or shaman would have made incisions over the afflicted areas and placed medicinal herbs into the wounds. The herbs were then burnt, fulfilling a double function in that the charred residue coloured the skin and the heat helped to cauterize the wound.

See Also