In the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, archaeologists opened burial mounds expecting the usual remains of the Iron Age. What they found instead were bodies with skin intact, hair still in place, and clothing frozen exactly as it had been worn.

These burials belong to the Pazyryk culture, a group of nomadic horsemen active between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE. Their tombs, known as kurgans, were built from timber and stone. Sometime after burial, grave robbers broke in and removed valuables. Meltwater later seeped into the chambers and froze. That ice sealed the graves and stopped decay.

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Inside the frozen tombs were felt cloaks, leather boots, fur hats, wooden carts, weapons, food, and ritual objects. Horses were buried alongside their owners, often in large numbers, complete with decorated saddles and bridles. Some wore carved wooden masks shaped like deer or birds.

Textiles were among the most unexpected survivals. Colors remained visible. Seams and weaving techniques were clear. One carpet found in a Pazyryk tomb is the oldest known knotted pile carpet in the world, preserved well enough to study thread by thread.

For a nomadic culture that left no cities and few permanent structures, this level of detail is rare.

When the bodies were examined, researchers noticed something else. The skin was tattooed.

Arms, shoulders, backs, and legs carried images of deer, elk, snow leopards, birds of prey, and composite animals. The figures followed the body’s musculature, placed so the designs shifted as the person moved. The style matched the animal imagery seen on weapons, horse gear, and carved wood.

Later imaging revealed additional tattoos that had faded beyond normal visibility. These findings changed how ancient tattooing was understood. The work was skilled, deliberate, and clearly meaningful within the culture.

The Pazyryk left no written language. What survives is the way they buried their dead.

Graves contained food, personal tools, mirrors, weapons, and ritual vessels. Containers with traces of burned cannabis suggest ceremonial practices. Clothing was layered and practical, suited for travel and cold weather.

Taken together, the burials show a society that invested time in craft, ritual, and appearance, even while living a mobile life.

Most nomadic cultures survive in the archaeological record as fragments. The Pazyryk did not intend to be preserved, but chance and climate intervened.

The result is one of the clearest records of Iron Age steppe life ever found.

Until next time,

Emails From Afar Team

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