The Princess Who May Not Have Been A Princess

From the moment of discovery, the media and popular press settled quickly on a label for the Ice Maiden: princess.

“Princess of Ukok,” “Princess of the Altai” — titles that appeared in newspaper headlines, in television documentary titles, in the public consciousness that quickly formed around the discovery.

The “princess” label is both understandable and misleading.

It is understandable because the burial’s richness — the elaborate grave goods, the six horses, the golden headdress, the silk — clearly marks the Ice Maiden as a person of elevated status within her community.

“Princess” is a quick way of communicating “high-status woman.”