In the Iron Age Altai, the options for pain management were limited by contemporary standards but not negligible.

The cannabis found in her burial may have been used medicinally as well as ceremonially — the analgesic properties of cannabis were likely known to steppe peoples who used the plant.

Various herbal preparations, prepared by specialists with knowledge of local plant medicines, would have been available.

The broader question of how the Pazyryk understood and responded to serious illness is one that the archaeological evidence touches on only indirectly.

The fact that the Ice Maiden was buried with elaborate ceremony, despite (or possibly in connection with) her illness, suggests that illness did not diminish her status in the eyes of her community.