ANZFSS WA Branch Event – Prehistorical Forensics

Ötzi the Iceman is an individual who lived, travelled, and was murdered in the Alps during the European Copper Age about 5300 years ago. The naturally mummified body was recovered in 1991, with forensic techniques subsequently applied to determine how Ötzi became deceased. In this presentation, Edda Guareschi will outline the life history, death and the environment of Ötzi revealed through forensic investigation, with considerations on the current related research and the ethics of public display of human bodies in museums.

Edda Guareschi is a MD and the curator of Ötzi the Iceman, housed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, in the Italian Alps. Specialised in Forensic Pathology and Legal Medicine with a MSc in Forensic Anthropology and a PhD in Forensic Taphonomy, Edda has been holding a honorary position at Murdoch University (WA, Australia) since 2018. Before moving to Australia, Edda worked as a forensic pathologist and anthropologist for 19 years. Since 2022, Edda has been collaborating
with the Western Australian Museum as a Research Associate, studying skeletal collections.

Date & Time: Wedneday 6th May 2026. Refreshments and networking from 5.30pm, seminar commencing 6.00pm

Venue: Exhibition Space, Ground Floor Building 500, Curtin University Bentley Campus