Tattoos and Body Modifications
Pontic Steppes
According to Herodotus (Histories 5.6), the Thracians (a neighboring nation/group of barbarians) highly value tattoos/tattooing: “To be tattooed is a sign of noble birth, while to bear no such marks is for the baser sort.”
Depictions of Thracians in Greek art often show tattoos of deer, “ladder” decorations, and other geometric shapes on Thracian women.
There are also several pairs of greaves with humanoid faces that show significant geometric tattooing/scarring that are believed to represent Thracians.A
Altai
Many of the individuals in the Pazyryk burials in the Altai Mountains were tattooed, although some of these only became visible/identifiable when the corpses were x-rayed.
These tattoos primarily depict leaping and twisting hooved animals with fantastical elements–deer with beaks, antlers terminating in flowers or birds' heads–as well as griffins and lurking predators.
Acupuncture/acupressure usage
One of the Pazyryk mummies has two sets of circular tattoos on his lower back and on one foot. Some scholars have postulated that these are meant to serve as a form of acupuncture treatment for rheumatic joint or muscle pain in those areas (Krutak, 2013).