Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts
Research Themes
Archaeology | Human-Animal Interactions | Multispecies Frameworks | Pastoralism | Foodways
Geographical Area(s) of Research
Peru | Canada | Spain
Lab Website
Top Three Research Questions on Biodiversity Solutions and Sustainable Coexistence of People and Nature
1. How have past societies managed their landscapes through variable cultural lenses?
2. What role do different species play in foodways, economic systems and worldviews across time?
3. Who is involved in the design and implementation of conservation policies and how can we improve inclusive practices that engage with descendent communities and locally-based groups?
Bio
Aleksa K. Alaica is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is an anthropological archaeologist and zooarchaeologist investigating the interaction between humans and animals in the past. She employs archaeological survey, excavations, zooarchaeology, paleoethnobotany and isotope analyses to study the way that past societies managed their landscapes and the animals within them as key subsistence resources, but also as culturally important beings in sociopolitical practices and ceremonies. For over fifteen years, she has sought to elucidate the role of animals as more than resources but also social agents in diverse environments and cultural perspectives, particularly in the Peruvian Andes.