Arianne Boileau
Assistant Professor
Research Director, Canadian Latin American Archaeology Society (CLAAS)
Phone: 403.440.6432
E-mail: aboileau@mtroyal.ca
Ph.D. University of Florida
MA, Trent University
BA, Université Laval
Scholarly Interests
I am an anthropological archaeologist studying human-environment interactions through zooarchaeology, taphonomy, biomolecular and geochemical analyses, and ethnohistory. I have participated in (zoo)archaeological projects in Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, France, Canada, Peru, and the southeastern United States. My research program investigates the dynamic relationships between natural and cultural landscapes at local and regional scales. I examine how and why Indigenous peoples procured, consumed, transformed, and discarded animal resources in pre-Columbian and post-European contact Mesoamerica. Research topics include Indigenous landscape use related to political economy, animal use for constructing and maintaining socio-political inequalities, settler-colonialism and debates of environmental stewardship, and methodological advances in zooarchaeology. My current project investigates the long-term interactions between Mesoamerican groups and the Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii). More specifically, I am interested in evaluating the potential impact of anthropic and environmental pressures on turtle populations over time and documenting the various practices in which Indigenous groups used turtles.
Teaching Statement
My goals as an educator are to teach students the value of cultural and biological diversity and the role of the past in shaping the present while supporting them in developing skills for their career path, such as effective communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. In the classroom, I use problem-based and hands-on activities to teach about the process of archaeological research and human cultural diversity. I further link archaeological practice to contemporary issues, such as Indigenous rights, collective identities, and sustainability, so that students can discover how archaeologists study the many ways humans have made themselves and their worlds. These strategies allow me to accommodate a variety of learning styles in the student population while effectively preparing students for a career in anthropology. Courses taught include Introduction to Archaeology, Methods in Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Ancient Foodways, Maya Civilization, and Anthropology of the Anthropocene.
Relevant Publication and/or Presentation
Boileau, Arianne, Nicolas Delsol, and Kitty F. Emery (2020) Human-Animal Relations in the Maya World. In The Maya World, edited by Scott R. Hutson and Traci Ardren, pp. 164–182. Routledge, New York.
Boileau, Arianne, and Norbert Stanchly (2020) Middle Preclassic Faunal Utilisation at Pacbitun, Belize: Evidence for Social Differentiation, Exchange, and Craft Specialisation. In An Archaeological Reconstruction of Ancient Maya Life at Pacbitun, Belize, edited by Terry G. Powis, Sheldon Skaggs, and George Micheletti, pp. 41–54. Archaeology of the Maya 4. BAR International Series 2970. BAR Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Boileau, Arianne (2019) El uso de la tafonomía arqueozoológica para examinar la estratigrafía de la época postclásica-colonial en Lamanai, Belice. Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano – Series Especiales 7(2):34–42.
Morin, Eugène, Arianne Boileau, and Elspeth Ready (2021) A Refitting Experiment on Long Bone Identification. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 31(4):650–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2980
Cunningham-Smith, Petra, Ashley E. Sharpe, Arianne Boileau, Erin K. Thornton, and Kitty F. Emery (2020) Food, Friend, or Offering: Exploring the Role of Maya Dogs in the Zooarchaeological Record. In Her Cup for Sweet Cacao: The Social Uses of Food in Ancient Maya Society, edited by Traci A. Ardren, pp. 161–187. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Recent or Relevant Grant, Honour or Award
2022-2024 Insight Development Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Role: Principal Investigator. Project Title: "Exploring Population Dynamics, Husbandry, and Trade of Freshwater Turtles: An Ancient DNA and Multi-Isotopic Perspective from the Maya World"
2021–2022 Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et culture Postdoctoral Fellowship
2020 Graduate Student Mentoring Award, University of Florida