Arianne Boileau
Occupation: Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Mount Royal University
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
Dr. Arianne Boileau completed her MA in Anthropology at Trent under the supervision of Eugene Morin. Her project used zooarchaeology to examine the foraging patterns of animal resources at an early Maya community in Belize. After Trent, she earned her PhD from the University of Florida where her work investigated resilience and transformation in political economy at the Maya archaeological site of Lamanai, in Belize, under conditions of Spanish colonialism. More specifically, she looked at how Indigenous elite and non-elite households adapted to Spanish contact by using animal remains as a proxy for changing socio-political and economic activities in the community. Her current research interests include human-environment interactions, political economy, colonialism, isotope analysis, ancient DNA, and Mesoamerican archaeology.
Trent Experience:
“Trent was a fantastic university to attend for my master's degree. It prepared me well for my future career in academia and archaeology by providing me with critical professional skills, such as communication, grant writing, project development, and academic writing. The program was rigorous and asked a lot from the students in the best of ways. It pushed me to think critically about the research I was producing while building on the foundations of those who came before me.”
Cassandra Hamilton
Occupation: Pilot – Flight Instructor
Hometown: Whitby, Ontario
Cassandra completed her BA at Trent and later her MA under the supervision of Eugen Morin. Her research looked at bone processing techniques at the site of Vale Boi. Her investigation found that dietary behaviours of the site inhabitants were more varied than originally believed. Her research interests included archaeozoology, the arrival of hominins in North America, and the Neanderthal/Homo Sapiens transition. Cassandra now works as a pilot and flight instructor using the numerous soft skills she developed while studying at Trent to help her excel in her current career.
Trent Experience:
Cassandra’s time at Trent helped her develop vital skills that she has been able to carry with her into her current career and life. This includes skills such as being able to manage time effectively and knowing how to work both independently and in group settings. Her time at Trent also taught her how to speak in front of groups, and how to find the right balance between work and personal life.
Corrie Hyland
Occupation: PhD Candidate for Archaeological Science at University of Oxford and a member of the Baikal Archaeology Project
Hometown: Courtice, Ontario
Corrie received a BSc in Archaeology and her MA in Anthropology from Trent. Her Masters research, under the supervision of Dr. Paul Szpak, focused on the multi-stable isotope analyses of mummified human remains from the Virú Valley Peru. This research contributed to our understanding of the importance of maize farming to coastal societies in early-state development, and provided insights into the life histories of individuals killed in a ritual event. After completing her Masters, Corrie moved to the University of Oxford for her PhD where her current research uses compound specific approaches to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis to better understand the importance of freshwater fish and seals to the diets of hunter-gather-fishers from Cis-Baikal, Russia.
Trent Experience:
“My undergraduate and masters at Trent University gave me a very solid foundation in both archaeological methods and theories as well as a great working understanding of stable isotope analysis. What I learned through courses in human osteology, archaeofaunal analysis, landscape archaeology, and introduction to archaeological science gave me a wide breadth of knowledge I continue to draw from when conducting and interpreting my PhD research.”
Maxime Lamoureux St-Hilaire
Occupation: Assistant Professor of Anthropology (Archaeology) at Mount Royal University
Hometown: Quebec City, Quebec
Dr. Maxime Lamoureux St-Hilaire completed his MA in anthropology
at Trent under the supervision of Dr. Gyles Iannone. His research focused on settlement abandonment and matters of ritual terminations of households in the Maya city of Minanha. After his Masters, he received his PhD from Tulane University where he studied the political structure of the palace and royal court at the site of La Corona in Guatemala. His current research interests include slow archaeology, which focuses on community engaged programs and grassroots archaeologists in Guatemala. He mixes aspects of archaeology and ethnographic research.
Trent Experience:
Dr. Maxime Lamoureux St-Hilaire experienced his first field school while at Trent, and it helped foster important network connections within the Maya Archaeology community. Trent’s network expands across multiple places including in Belize and other universities, and attending Trent gave him access to these vital connections. He also credits Trent’s four-field approach as being particularly helpful in developing his knowledge and the grad program helped prepare him for his career by teaching public speaking skills and allowing him to act as a teaching assistant for courses.
Tamara Moore
Occupation: PhD candidate at the University College London, sessional instructor at University of Calgary, and part time soil lab technician
Hometown: Creston, British Columbia
Tamara completed her MA in anthropology at Trent under the
supervision of Dr. Helen Haines. Her research looked at Maya archaeology of a small house mound complex that was a part of the larger city of Ka’kabish. After her MA, she moved to University College London for her PhD where her research continues from her MA as she is studying the timing, occupation, and construction of the site of Coco Chan. This site is in-between Ka’kabish and Lamanai, and Tamara hopes to understand the role Coco Chan played in the region. Her research interests include architecture, urban planning and Pre-Columbian Maya culture.
Trent Experience:
“Attending Trent not only gained me my Masters, but introduced me to the Ka'kabish Archaeological Research Project and Dr. Helen Haines. I have worked with KARP for three field seasons now, about to start a fourth, and it is through KARP and Dr. Haines mentorship that I have created a career path that I want to follow.”
Samantha Walker
Occupation: Assistant Professor (without review) at University of British Columbia and the Executive Director of Walker Education and Research Foundation
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Samantha completed her MA in Anthropology from Trent under the supervision of James Conolly. Her research examined the social and ecological contexts of ancient mortuary practices in the Trent Valley region, Ontario. Her study contextualized the potential early food value of wild rice to ancient Indigenous occupants of the Trent Valley, prior to the resource’s documented historic importance as a subsistence food and social resource. After her MA, Samantha moved to McGill University for her PhD in Anthropology. Her areas of interest include archaeology of place and landscape, environmental modelling, and community-based participatory research.
Trent Experience:
“Under James Conolly I developed a GIS toolkit that has been critical to my ongoing research. I also received a breadth of research opportunities. During my time at Trent, in addition to my work under James in the Trent Valley Ontario, I was a research associate for Gyles Iannone's SETS project where I conducted research on the settlement systems of Dai Viet and Champa kingdoms in Vietnam, and through James Conolly's connections served as the GIS Analyst for the WARP Project led by the University of Colorado Boulder in the Peloponnese, Greece. I received a lot of personal and professional support during my time at Trent and remember my program fondly.”
Brent Whitford
Occupation: Senior Curator and Administrator at the Cornwall Community Museum;
Archaeology Fieldschool Instructor with the Balkan Heritage Foundation;
Sessional instructor at the University of Northern British Columbia
Hometown: Cornwall, Ontario
Brent completed his MA in Anthropology at Trent under the supervision of James Conolly. His research used eco-cultural niche modeling to test for changes in settlement distribution during the Neolithic of Southeast Europe to see how changes in agricultural practice over time could modify the kinds of climates and landscapes that were available. After his MA, Brent completed his PhD at the University at Buffalo. He now works as the Senior Curator at the Cornwall Community Museum and as a sessional instructor. His research interests include archaeology, the Neolithic, and geographic information systems.
Trent Experience:
“I credit my time at Trent as being the single most useful experience of my academic and professional career. The program was so rigorous that my subsequent PhD coursework was a breeze. I am grateful for the approach taken by the anthropology department to focus a significant amount of time on developing practical skills.”