Our urgent need to do death differently

Deathwalker and bioarchaeologist, Ronika Power, urges us to rethink the convention of death a topic that has become taboo in the modern Western world. She asks a compelling question: in our efforts to protect ourselves from pain and discomfort, have we become 'death-denying'?

In this talk, Ronika shares lessons from the ancient world to teach us how we can reconnect with the extraordinary opportunities for growth, bonding and ripening that emerge through death, prompting us to reclaim the ancient human right and privilege to take care of our own. Bioarchaeologist and trained Deathwalker, Assoc. Prof. Ronika Power, sees The Great Unknown as the lingering question that connects and contextualises the past, present and future. With her keen interests in this concept, her research lies in Biocultural Archeology, allowing her to work with a diverse range of international populations from early Holocene hunter-gatherers of Kenya; to multi-period cemeteries across Egypt to name a few.

Ronika is an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries London, and one of the 30 inaugural Superstars of STEM for Science and Technology Australia.