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Alps, Arctic, Siberia & China · 36,000 BCE – 1475 CE

The Frozen

Sealed in Ice, Preserved Forever

Cold is the most powerful natural preservative on Earth. In the right conditions — permafrost, glacial ice, the dry cold of high altitude — a body can be maintained for tens of thousands of years with soft tissue, hair, tattoos, clothing, and even the food in a stomach preserved intact.

The five frozen mummies in this collection span 36,000 years of human and animal history. From the prehistoric steppe bison Blue Babe to the tattooed Siberian Ice Maiden to the murder victim Ötzi — each one rewrote what we thought we knew about ancient life on Earth.

"As global temperatures rise and permafrost thaws, ancient bodies are emerging faster than scientists can study them — a race against the very climate that preserved them."

Key Facts

Ötzi3,300 BCE, Alps, 5,300 years
Qilakitsoq1475 CE, Greenland
Blue Babe36,000 BCE, Alaska
Ice Maiden500 BCE, Altai, Russia
Tarim Mummies1,800 BCE, Xinjiang, China
PreservationPermafrost, freeze-drying, cold

Five Frozen Mummies

Alps · 3,300 BCE
Ötzi the Iceman
Shot from behind with an arrow. Frozen in an Alpine glacier for 5,300 years. Europe's oldest murder victim and the most studied mummy in history.
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Greenland · 1475 CE
Qilakitsoq Inuit Mummies
Eight Inuit mummies found in 1972, still wearing their seal-skin clothing. The youngest was a six-month-old baby in his dead mother's hood.
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Alaska · 36,000 BCE
Blue Babe — The Steppe Bison
A 36,000-year-old bison found frozen in Alaska with fresh blood still in its heart. Palaeontologists ate a stew from its neck at the excavation dinner.
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Russia · 500 BCE
The Siberian Ice Maiden
Found in 1993 in a burial mound in the Altai mountains of Russia. Her tattoos — serpents, deer, flowers — are among the most beautiful ever preserved on ancient skin.
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China · 1,800 BCE
The Tarim Basin Mummies
Remarkably tall, with red or blonde hair and European features — found in western China. They are forcing a complete rethink of ancient migration routes across Asia.
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Siberia · 42,000 BCE
Lyuba — The Baby Mammoth
A one-month-old woolly mammoth found in 2007, so perfectly preserved that her mother's milk was still in her stomach. The most complete mammoth ever found.
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Siberia · 400 BCE
The Pazyryk Mummies
Tattooed nomads of the Altai steppe, frozen in log chambers under kurgans. Their preserved skin bears some of the most elaborate ancient tattoos ever found.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the oldest frozen mummy?

Ötzi the Iceman, found in the Alps in 1991, is the oldest known frozen human mummy, dating to around 3,300 BCE — over 5,300 years old. However, the Chinchorro mummies of South America (though not frozen) predate Ötzi by thousands of years. Among animal specimens, Lyuba the baby mammoth, found in Siberia in 2007, is approximately 42,000 years old.

Where are frozen mummies found?

Frozen human mummies are found wherever permanent ice or permafrost has existed: the European Alps (Ötzi), the Arctic regions of Greenland (Qilakitsoq Inuit), Siberia (the Siberian Ice Maiden, Pazyryk culture), the Andes mountains (Inca Capacocha sacrifices including Juanita and La Doncella), and the Tarim Basin in western China. Frozen animals are found predominantly in Siberia's permafrost.

How are frozen mummies preserved?

Sub-zero temperatures halt decomposition by preventing bacterial activity. The key factor is speed: a body must freeze before significant decay begins. Ötzi was preserved because he fell into a natural hollow that shielded him from glacial movement, and was quickly covered by snow. Inca Capacocha sacrifices were preserved because high-altitude glacier conditions maintained stable freezing for centuries.

Can frozen mummies be damaged by climate change?

Yes — this is an active scientific concern. Rising temperatures are causing glaciers and permafrost to melt worldwide, exposing previously frozen remains to air and bacteria for the first time in thousands of years. Ötzi was discovered precisely because glacial melt exposed him. Researchers believe that thousands of undiscovered frozen specimens may be degrading rapidly before they can be studied.

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