They were discovered by the members of the Sayan expedition within the "The Mystery of Ancient Siberian Artists" project, which is funded by the Russian Geographical Society.

      The ancient children's toys were found in the course of excavations of the Itkol Cemetery in the Shirin District of Khakassia.

      "When studying the finds made by the expedition in the field season of 2017, two heads deserved special attention - one made of steatite (so-called soapstone) and having something human, and the other one made zoomorphic of a horn and looking like an unknown animal.

      The archaeologists assume that the toys’ bodies were made of organic materials - cloth or leather, and the heads were made of stones, in this case, steatite, or horns.