Posted on 08/25/2006 12:14:30 PM PDT by blam
Archaeologists find 2,500-year-old mummy in Mongolia, tattoos and all
Thu Aug 24, 2:18 PM ET
AFP/DDP/GAI-HO Photo: This undated picture released by the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) shows a mummified body from...
BERLIN (AFP) - An international group of archaeologists has unearthed a well-preserved, 2,500-year-old mummy frozen in the snowcapped mountains of Mongolia complete with blond hair, tattoos and a felt hat.
The president of the German Archaeological Institute, Hermann Parzinger, hailed the "fabulous find" at a press conference to present the 28-member team's discovery in Berlin.
The Scythian warrior was found in June at a height of 2,600 meters (8,500 feet) in the Altay Mountains in an intact burial mound or kurgan.
Parzinger said the tomb was practically untouched when the team discovered it.
"We just had to sweep away some dust and could begin," he said.
Researchers said the most striking feature about the man was his light blond hair, which Parzinger acknowledged may have yellowed after his death.
The man, who was apparently well-off, was cloaked in a beaver-skin coat with sable trim and sheep's wool lining that was in remarkably good condition, and still intact skin on his upper body revealed tattoos.
Two horses with elaborately decorated saddles and bridles, weapons and wooden, clay and animal horn vessels were placed in the tomb alongside the corpse to accompany the warrior into the next life.
The recovered items are currently in storage in Ulan Bator. Parzinger said even the contents of the horses' stomachs would be examined to offer insights into the region's vegetation two centuries before Christ.
Parzinger said that until now remains of the Scythians, who were Iranian nomadic peoples, had only been found on the Russian side of the Altays. He said the new find showed that their territory was much broader than first thought.
He said the ice had helped preserve the mummy and his belongings and noted that global warming also posed a threat to such archaeological finds. He said that if the trend continues, in 20 to 30 years there would be no more ice kurgans.
We've posted on this discovery before. This one has more detail.
Either Ozzie Osbourne or Jimmy Hoffa.
bump
Global Warming - Is there anything this wacky Bush caused malady CAN'T affect?
Typical last-line hype of GW! What makes this numbnutz think there are more to "find" now, anyway?
Uhhhh, should that be Mongolian? I thought "mongoloid" was abirth defect...
Did someone say "Kurgan?"
There's a PBS program about this girl in the "Secrets of the Dead" series. I believe it's about modern day descencents of the Amazons. The researcher wondered if she could find evidence that there had actually been Amazon-like warriors and if they had descendents. Her work led her to this girl. It's a fascinating show.
I remember that the Austrian Iceman they found in 91' had tat's as well.
http://members.tripod.com/~mr_sedivy/iceman3.html
He goes back to 3350bc - 3100bc
Okay.
One archaeologist to another archaeologist,"hey this looks like a grave,let's dig up the poor bastard and see what we find" !!!
Must have found the remains of MM.
Always interesting bump
Really, I was about to post: "[insert Helen Thomas joke here]"!
Hey! What a coincidence! I used to date a blonde-haired Scythian!
"He's gay, Jim."
Or...maybe he was banished, on account of the tattos, and he died among others who were indigenous to the region???
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