She was still, at the time of her death, someone who warranted six horses and a golden-bird headdress.

Whether her possible role as a ritual specialist was connected to her experience of illness is an interesting question that cannot be definitively answered.

In various shamanic traditions, serious illness — particularly illness that brings the sufferer close to death — is understood as a transformative experience that can deepen spiritual capacity.

A person who has navigated the borderland of death and returned (even if only temporarily) may be understood as having access to knowledge and power that healthy people do not.

The Ice Maiden’s illness, in this interpretive framework, would not have been simply a misfortune to be endured but potentially an element of the spiritual experience that shaped her role in the community.