The 10th World Congress on Mummy Studies (WMC 2022) and 4th Bolzano Congress held in the EURAC Research Institute for Mummy Studies Centre (Bolzano, Italy) (September 5-9, 2022) was attended by 170 participants from 28 countries. These event was organized by Eurac Research- Institute for Mummy Studies. The agenda of the conference included a public lecture on Egypt’s royal mummies: from discovery to display(s), in addition to podium, poster presentations and social activities. The congress was enriched with a visit of the Iceman exhibition at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology.

The scientific program included sessions on: 1. Iceman, 2. Biomedicine & Paleopathology, 3. Imaging and Bioarchaeology, 4. Atherosclerosis & Imaging, 5. Egyptian mummies, 6. Imaging, Biomedicine & Conservation, 8. Museums & Conservation, 9.Mummies from Europe, the Near East and North Africa, 10. Biomolecular Studies, 11.Mummified Methods, 12. Museum & Collections, 13. Museums and Conservation, 14. Funerary Archaeology & Images, 15. Mummy Exhibits.

Presentations of multidisciplinary methodologies provided insights on:

1. Medical aspects of the Otzi’ arrow: how long did survive the trauma. The authors came to the conclusion that the trauma was survived for several hours and Otzi was able to act during this time and that the extreme left shoulder/arm position was deliberately opted by Otzi, because it compresses the wound and dead came in this position,
2. New 3D visualization of the wound of the left shoulder. The authors found that the hematoma was more extensive than previously described by others. Using 3D reconstruction of the ante-mortem posture of Otzi the authors were able to explain the trajectory of the arrow, using 3D models of the body from a recent decease.

Highlights in podium presentation were:

1. “Microscopic evidence for malaria infection in viscera tissue of the Medici family” This presentation addressed the analyses of internal organs placed in large terracotta jars entombed along with the coffins of the Medicine nobles within the San Lorenzo architectural complex. Analysis with atomic force microscopy, the authors detected ring-like structures that resemble developmental stages of Plasmodium spp. or Babesia spp. parasites. Presence of Plasmodium falciparum inside the red blood cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. This study provided first microscopic evidence for the occurrence of the most fatal form of malaria in the Medici family.
2. “Atherosclerosis in Ancient Mummies: The HORUS Study of 268 Adult Individuals” presented the results of the revision of 268 CT scans of adult body mummies.

Highlights in poster presentations were: 1. “Mass burial genomics reveals an association between HLA-DRB1*03 and Paratyphoid Fever in Medieval Europeans” work done by investigating a mass burial from the 14th century Germany . The frequency of the risk allele HLA-DRB1*0301 for enteric fever was higher in medieval cases than in contemporaneous control. The authors assume the causative allele is subject to balancing selection, providing resistance to infectious respiratory diseases such as severe respiratory syndrome (SARS). “FLEX 429: Case Studies in Human Paleopathology” work done by an UBC MD undergraduate student (Aaron Moulson ) under my supervision described cases on bones (Tertiary Syphilis, Leprosy & Osteoarthritis) from the Bournemouth University collection and one case (Anemia) from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia collection.

Social and cultural events included a visit to the Museum where the Tyrolean man is exposed.