A new analysis used near-infrared photography to shed light on the methods and tools for creating tattoos in the Early Iron Age Pazyryk culture.

Fantastical animal imagery on the forearms of a 2,300-year-old mummified woman is revealing new information about the art of tattooing in ancient Siberia.

Thanks to cutting-edge photography, archaeologists have discovered that a virtuoso artist used a previously unknown tattoo tool to “hand-poke” the designs in multiple stages.

The new findings are detailed in a study published Thursday (July 31) in the journal Antiquity.