The context — the burial of a person with possible ritual significance, accompanied by a mirror in a carved case — is consistent with the ritual interpretation.

But a mirror in a case is also simply a practical object for personal grooming, and elite women across many cultures owned and were buried with such items.

The carved wooden case that held the mirror is a small work of art in itself — evidence of the level of craftsmanship invested even in everyday objects in the Pazyryk world.

The Novosibirsk Years And The Research They Produced

From 1993 until her return to the Altai Republic, the Ice Maiden’s remains were housed at Novosibirsk’s Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography — the institution led by Polosmak — where they were examined by researchers from multiple disciplines.