These figurines — there are around thirty of them in the known collection, with more possibly still in the ground or in collections that have not been fully published — are among the most culturally significant objects in Upper Paleolithic Siberia.

The Mal’ta female figurines are not identical.

They vary in size, in posture, in the degree of stylization.

Some are more naturalistic, with recognizable anatomy and a sense of individual character.

Others are more abstract, reducing the human form to its essential volumes.

Some are depicted clothed in what appears to be fur clothing — the fur indicated by engraved lines on the ivory surface — while others are depicted without clothing.

The tradition of female figurines in the Upper Paleolithic extends far beyond Mal’ta and far beyond Siberia.