Dr. François Lanoë -Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, School of Anthropology

am I am an archaeologist and anthropologist, studying the complex and dynamic relationship between humans and their environments. I focus on the settlement of the Americas in modern day Alaska and in the Northwestern Plains.

In Alaska, I am building upon my doctoral work in researching archaeological sites that date to the end of the Ice Age and are among the oldest in North America. I focus on the study of animal bones both visually (zooarchaeology) and chemically (isotope analysis) to understand the changing environments that hunter-gatherers experienced and how they interacted with other species. In this endeavor, I work closely with University of Alaska geoarchaeologist and University of Arizona alumnus Dr. Joshua Reuther.
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In the Blackfoot Early Origins Project, Dr. Nieves Zedeño and I are working with tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Montana and Alberta to understand how the Blackfoot and their ancestors have interacted with their landscape for thousands of years. We train tribal members in field methods, allowing them to pursue rewarding careers with cultural resource management companies. Several University of Arizona graduate students also receive training and develop their own research programs as part of the project. We translate much of our research into educational material to be used by Blackfoot educators, including interactive maps of the Blackfoot ancestral territory and its archaeological record.