The Ice Maiden had tattoos on her left shoulder (the griffin-like creature), on her fingers, and on both arms.

The survival of these tattoos across 2,500 years of freezing is a demonstration of the permanence of the medium — the pigment, placed under the skin, remains as the skin remains, preserved by the same cold that stopped all decomposition.

The imagery of the tattoos connects the Ice Maiden directly to the broader Pazyryk visual world.

The creatures on her skin are variations of the creatures on Pazyryk saddle covers, on Pazyryk gold plaques, on the felt panels that decorated Pazyryk elite spaces.

She wore this visual vocabulary literally on her body — it was as much a part of her as her clothing.