Pernille Bangsgaard

Pernille Bangsgaard is a Senior Researcher at the Section for Geogenetics within the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on zooarchaeology and Near Eastern archaeology, with particular expertise in animal bones and faunal remains from archaeological contexts across multiple time periods and geographical regions.

Dr. Bangsgaard's primary research areas include the domestication process of sheep and goats in the Middle East, butchering patterns of domesticated animals, and animals in ritual contexts. Her current projects examine burial rituals at 16 cemetery sites, painted skulls and buried sheep, and the C-Group and Pangrave cultures in Nubia (northern Sudan) around 2000 BCE as part of the Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia. She has developed significant expertise in analyzing faunal remains from ritual contexts, particularly in ancient Near Eastern and Nubian cultures.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong interdisciplinary approach combining archaeology, genetics, and material culture studies. Her work spans from the Neolithic period in southwestern Asia to Late Antique Jordan, with a particular focus on ritual practices, animal domestication, and population movements. She frequently collaborates on large-scale genomic studies examining ancient DNA from both human and animal remains, contributing to our understanding of ancient population histories and cultural practices through biomolecular evidence.

Dr. Bangsgaard has been actively involved in academic activities including organizing conferences, delivering lectures at international events such as the ICAZ Conference and International Conference for Nubian Studies, and participating in numerous workshops. Her teaching includes Zooarchaeology and Archaeological theory, and she is proficient in both English and Danish, facilitating her international research collaborations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.