Editing Saka (section)

====Tattoos====

Men and women of eastern saka are known to have been extensively tattooed. The men in the [[Pazyryk burials]] had extensive tattoos in the Siberian [[animal style]].<ref name="nomads">{{cite web|url=http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_2_7.html
|title=Early Nomads of the Altaic Region|publisher=The Hermitage|access-date=31 July 2007|archive-date=22 June 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622035146/http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_2_7.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A Pazyryk chief in burial mound 2, had his body covered in animal style tattoos, but not his face.<ref name="SP106">{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia |date=1 January 2017 |publisher=British Museum |pages=106–109 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34533231}}</ref> Parts of the body had deteriorated, but much of the tattooing was still clearly visible. Subsequent investigation using reflected [[infrared photography]] revealed that all five bodies discovered in the Pazyryk kurgans were tattooed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barkova |first1=L. L. |last2=Pankova |first2=S. V. |title=Tattooed Mummies From The Large Pazyryk Mounds: New findings |journal=Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia |date=2005 |volume=2 |issue=22 |pages=48–59 |url=https://www.academia.edu/3640168 |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref> No instruments specifically designed for tattooing were found, but the Pazyryks had extremely fine needles with which they did miniature [[embroidery]], and these were probably used for tattooing. The chief was elaborately decorated with an interlocking series of striking designs representing a variety of fantastic beasts. The best preserved [[tattoo]]s were images of a [[donkey]], a [[argali|mountain ram]], two highly stylized [[deer]] with long antlers and an imaginary [[carnivore]] on the right arm. Two monsters resembling [[griffin]]s decorate the chest, and on the left arm are three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a [[mountain goat]]. On the front of the right leg a [[fish]] extends from the foot to the knee. A monster crawls over the right foot, and on the inside of the shin is a series of four running rams which touch each other to form a single design. The left leg also bears tattoos, but these designs could not be clearly distinguished. In addition, the chief's back was tattooed with a series of small circles in line with the vertebral column.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia |date=1 January 2017 |publisher=British Museum |pages=106–109, Items 31, 32, 33|url=https://www.academia.edu/34533231}}</ref> The [[Siberian Ice Maiden]] is also known for her extensive tattoos.<ref name="siberiantimes.com">{{cite journal |title=Siberian Princess reveals her 2,500 year old tattoos |journal=The Siberian Times |date=2012 |url=https://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Pazyryk-2 tattoos.png|Tattoos of the Pazyryk-2 chief.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia |date=1 January 2017 |publisher=British Museum |pages=106–109, Items 31, 32, 33 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34533231}}</ref>
File:Pazyryk tatoo design with zoomorphic symbols, 4th century BCE.jpg|Tattoos of the chief's right arm, with zoomorphic symbols.<ref name="siberiantimes.com"/>
File:Pazyryk-2 man, back and left arm (circa 300 BCE).jpg|Tattoos of the chief's back and left arm.<ref name="siberiantimes.com"/>
File:Tatoo motif on the arm of the Siberian Ice Maiden.png|Tattoo motif on the arm of the [[Siberian Ice Maiden]].<ref name="siberiantimes.com"/>
</gallery>