Petra Banks

Petra Banks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alaska. She holds a PhD from Texas State University (2024) and specializes in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Her work focuses on skeletal trauma analysis, particularly in blast and mass disaster contexts. She consults for law enforcement and the Alaska State Medical Examiner on forensic casework.

Research interests include forensic archaeology, 3D imaging of skeletal remains, and historical cemetery studies. Notable projects involve exhumation of border-crosser remains through Operation Identification and analysis of a Stalin-era mass grave in Georgia. Her research aims to develop trauma databases for victim identification and improve forensic methodologies.

Teaches courses like Human Osteology and Forensic Anthropology. Publications span bioarchaeological studies of violence, institutional history, and gendered trauma patterns. Active in interdisciplinary work linking public health frameworks to archaeological data interpretation.

Labs: Zooarchaeology Lab (Bunnell Building 403). Office: Bunnell Building 401.