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[00:00.41] The images reveal intricate details in the ancient tattoos, which picture leopards, a stag, a rooster and the mythical griffin creature that is half lion and half eagle.

[00:12.37] The tattooed woman, aged about 50, was from the horse-riding warrior Pazyryk people, who lived on the vast steppe between China and Europe in the 5th century BC.

[00:23.26] The archaeologists worked with a tattooist who reproduces ancient skin decorations on his own body to understand how exactly they were made.

[00:33.09] The team say the decorations were so crisp and uniform that modern tattooists would find it challenging to produce them.

[00:39.99] They believe that the tattoos were first stencilled onto the skin.

[00:43.71] Then two needle-like tools were probably used, made from animal horn or bone.

[00:49.02] The pigment was likely made from burned plants or soot.