Bern, Switzerland - A 2500-year-old Siberian "ice mummy" was discovered to have had insanely intricate and complex tattoos covering much of her skin, a recent report revealed.

Scientists used advanced imaging technology to analyze the skin of the mummy, revealing complex tattoos of animals such as leopards and roosters as well as mythological creatures.

The woman, thought to be aged about 50, came from the nomadic horse-riding Pazyryk people who lived on the steppe between China and Europe.

Her body is part of a group of "ice mummies" found entombed in the Altai mountains of Siberia in the 19th century.

Tattoos Woman preserves late husband's tattooed skin and displays it in picture frame

This discovery is particularly extraordinary as it provides insights into a relatively unknown warrior culture, whose social and cultural practices have largely been lost to time.

"The insights really drive home to me the point of how sophisticated these people were," the study's lead author Dr. Gino Caspari told BBC news.

"This made me feel like we were much closer to seeing the people behind the art, how they worked and learned. The images came alive."

The use of advanced technology has allowed scientists to map out the specific tattoos that the woman had and even recreate them. Experts are stunned by how detailed they are for people using such primitive tattooing techniques.

They even managed to establish that different people may have tattooed each of her arms because the quality and accuracy of the work is different.

Because some of the tattoos appear to have been damaged while her body was being prepared for burial, Caspari believes that the inkings meant something for the living, but were not important for the afterlife.

"It suggests that tattoos were really something for the living with meaning during life, but that they actually didn't really play much of a role in the afterlife," he said.