Natalia Polosmak facts for kids

Natalia Viktorovna Polosmak is a famous Russian archaeologist. She studies ancient people who lived long ago in Eurasia. She is especially known for her work on the Pazyryk Culture. These ancient people were like the "Scythians" and lived in the Altay Mountains in Siberia, Russia. Dr. Polosmak is most famous for finding and studying the "Ice Maiden" mummy. This discovery is now part of a discussion between Russian scientists and the Altay people who live there.

Discovering the Ice Maiden

In 1993, Natalia Polosmak was exploring the Ukok Plateau. This area is high up and very barren. There, she made an amazing discovery. She found a female mummy frozen in the permafrost. Permafrost is ground that stays frozen all year round.

This mummy was linked to the Pazyryk culture. This was because of the clothes still on the well-preserved body. The Pazyryk people lived during the Iron Age. They lived in the Altay Mountains and on the Ukok Plateau. Many ancient burial mounds, called kurgans, have been found in this area. These kurgans are linked to the Pazyryk culture. This group was very similar to the legendary Scythian people who lived to the west. Digging at this site uncovered many interesting ancient objects.

The Ice Maiden's Burial

The famous mummy found by Natalia Polosmak is known as the Ice Maiden. She discovered the mummy in an old burial mound. This mound had not been disturbed before. The mummy was special because it was a woman buried with full honors. This was rare for a woman at that time.

The mummy had detailed tattoos on her skin. Experts believe she lived around 500 BCE. She was dressed beautifully. She wore a black felt headdress that was still in good condition. This headdress had figures that showed her high social status. She also wore a necklace made of wooden camels. Her high boots were made of leather. Her dress was woven from camel hair and sheep's wool. It had braided tassels and was colored red using insect dye. Other tattooed mummies were also found frozen in the permafrost at this site. These date back to about 300 BCE.

Local Beliefs and the Discovery

While Dr. Polosmak and her team were digging, they used water from a nearby lake. They heated this water with blow torches to melt the ice around the artifacts. During this time, stories spread among the local Ukok people. They believed that disturbing the dead would bring bad things.

Later, the helicopter engine that carried the mummy to Russia stopped working. This caused an emergency landing. The Ice Maiden was also slightly damaged because there was no refrigeration. Many people saw this as a sign. They thought the maiden did not like being disturbed. An earthquake happened in the Altay region in September 2003. This was also seen as bad luck linked to disturbing the ancient burial.

Articles by Polosmak

• The First Report on a Burial of a Noble Pazyryk Woman on the Ukok Plateau

See also

• Tarim mummies
• Pazyryk culture
• Siberian Ice Maiden