INTRODUCTION
Dr. Bleuze is a biological anthropologist with research interests in bioarchaeology and paleoanthropology. A central theme of her research is understanding the various mechanisms underlying human adaptability in response to the physical, developmental, functional, and sociocultural environments. She has worked at archaeological and paleoanthropological sites in the United States and Africa.
She has recently shifted her bioarchaeological region of focus to Mesoamerica. Dr. Bleuze is the director of the Subterranean Maya Bioarchaeology Project at Cal State LA. The Project consists of a multidisciplinary team of researchers whose goals are to reconstruct the lives of individuals deposited in caves across Mesoamerica and understand how these individuals functioned in ritual space.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & INTERESTS
Dr. Bleuze practices student-centered teaching and helps students reach their fullest potential by engaging them in the learning process. She teaches students to be active learners so they can take ownership of their learning and education. Her primary goals as an educator are to prepare students for a lifetime of learning, excite students about exploration, and provide students with transferrable skills that will serve them in their professional and personal lives.
Her pedagogical areas of interest include content area literacy, active learning environments, academic socialization across diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts, and inquiry-based science. She has earned multiple teaching certificates including a Certificate in Effective Instruction from the Association of College and University Educators.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- musculoskeletal biomechanics, locomotion, and activity patterns
- developmental and functional skeletal morphology
- growth and development
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Bleuze, M. M. 2024. Changes in limb bone diaphyseal structure in chimpanzees during development. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, e24942.
Bleuze, M. M., Saldaña, M., Brady, J. E. 2023. Fresh Observations on Ancient Maya Ceramic/Textile Composites: Technological, Contextual and Conceptual Reconsiderations. Archaeological Discovery October 2023 Vol. 11, No. 4.
Bleuze, M. M. 2022. Structural Analysis of the Midshaft in an Isolated Femur from Koobi Fora, Kenya: Implications for Taxonomic Identity. PaleoAnthropology 2:354-370.
Bleuze, M. M., Wheeler, S. M., Williams, L. J. 2022. Skeletal Growth Status in a Physically Abused Child from the Kellis 2 Cemetery, Egypt. Childhood in the Past. (Article ID: YCIP 2036297).
Bleuze, M. M., Wheeler, S. M., Williams, L. J., Dupras, T. L. 2016. Growth of the pectoral girdle in a sample of juveniles from the Kellis 2 cemetery, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. American Journal of Human Biology 28(5):636-645.
Bleuze, M. M., Wheeler, S. M., Dupras, T. L., Williams, L. J., Molto, J. E. 2014. An exploration of adult body shape and limb proportions at Kellis 2, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 153(3):496-505.
Bleuze, M. M., Wheeler, S. M., Williams, L. J., Dupras, T. L. 2014. Ontogenetic changes in intralimb proportions in a Romano-Christian period sample from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. American Journal of Human Biology 26(2):221-228.
Bleuze, M. M. 2012. Proximal femoral cross-sectional geometry in Orrorin tugenensis. Journal of Comparative Human Biology 63(3):153-166.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND