Dr. Capriles's research is focused on three sets of questions: (1) how did humans adapt to the changing environmental conditions of the South American Andes and Amazonia during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene transition? (2) which specific economic and ecological processes were involved in the development of early camelid pastoralism and other food production economies? and (3) how were the economic and technological organization of subsistence-scale communities impacted by the emergence and expansion of complex polities such as the Tiwanaku and Inca states? To address these problems, he conducts research in Bolivia and Chile and collaborates broadly with international interdisciplinary research teams. He is also engaged in the preservation of cultural heritage through public outreach and the active participation of indigenous and local communities in archaeological research.
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Recent Publications
Diversified human dietary strategies and settlement patterns in the core of the Atacama Desert during the late Pleistocene-Holocene transition (∼12.8 – 11.2 ka)
Labarca, R., Ugalde, P. C., Capriles, J. M., Gayo, E. M., Püschel, T. A., Caro, F., Jarpa, G., Villavicencio, N., Latorre, C. & Santoro, C. M., Mar 2026, In: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 81, 101742.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Gateway to the east: The Palaspata temple and the south-eastern expansion of the Tiwanaku state
Capriles, J. M., Calla Maldonado, S., Calero, J. P. & Delaere, C., Jun 1 2025, In: Antiquity. 99, 405, p. 831-849 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Nuevas dataciones sobre restos humanos del centro de Argentina y su aporte a la discusión del poblamiento de la región
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Short communication: Estimating radiocarbon reservoir effects in Bolivian Amazon freshwater lakes
García-Escárzaga, A., Lombardo, U., Bello-Alonso, P. M., Capriles, J. M., Colonese, A., Dudgeon, K., Simões, C. D. & Fernandes, R., Nov 24 2025, In: Geochronology. 7, 4, p. 583-589 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Historic manioc genomes illuminate maintenance of diversity under long-lived clonal cultivation
Kistler, L., Freitas, F. D. O., Gutaker, R. M., Maezumi, S. Y., Ramos-Madrigal, J., Simon, M. F., Mendoza F, J. M., Drovetski, S. V., Loiselle, H., de Oliveira, E. J., Vieira, E. A., Carvalho, L. J. C. B., Perez, M. E., Lin, A. T., Liu, H. L., Miller, R., Przelomska, N. A. S., Ratan, A., Wales, N. & Wann, K. & 8 others, , Mar 7 2025, In: Science. 387, 6738, eadq0018.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Early human foraging paleoecology in the highlands of Potosí, Bolivia
Capriles, J. M., Albarracin-Jordan, J., Calla Maldonado, S. & Rivera Casanovas, C., Dec 2024, In: Quaternary Environments and Humans. 2, 6, 100046.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Evaluating Dietary Diversity among Andean Central Altiplano Early Camelid Pastoralists Using Stable Isotope Analysis
Capriles, J. M., Miller, M. J., Fox, J. R., Browman, D. L. & Yoder Urista, C., 2024, In: Environmental Archaeology. 29, 3, p. 246-264 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Archaeobotanical evidence supports indigenous cucurbit long-term use in the Mesoamerican Neotropics
Domic, A. I., VanDerwarker, A. M., Thakar, H. B., Hirth, K., Capriles, J. M., Harper, T. K., Scheffler, T. E., Kistler, L. & Kennett, D. J., Dec 2024, In: Scientific reports. 14, 1, 10885.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The extinct Notiomastodon platensis (proboscidea, Gomphoteriidae) inhabited mediterranean ecosystems during the Late Pleistocene in north-central Chile (31°S–36°S)
González-Guarda, E., Segovia, R. A., Valenzuela, M., Asevedo, L., Villavicencio, N., Tornero, C., Ramírez-Pedraza, I., Ortega, S., Capriles, J., Labarca, R. & Latorre, C., Nov 15 2024, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 344, 108957.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Moche chronology of ancient Peru: Bayesian assessment of radiocarbon dates and ceramic styles from north to south
Koons, M. L., Rizzuto, B. C., Trever, L., Boswell, A., Bazán Pérez, A., Muro Ynoñán, L. A., Prieto, G., Rengifo, C., Sharp, K., Swenson, E., Ikehara-Tsukayama, H., Ortiz Zevallos, J., Cotrina Roncal, T., George, R. J., Capriles, J. M. & Tokanai, F., Sep 1 2024, In: Quaternary International. 703, p. 82-96 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Pampa La Cruz: A New Mass Sacrificial Burial Ground during the Chimú Occupation in Huanchaco, North Coast of Peru
Prieto, G., Verano, J., Rowe, A. P., Castillo, F., Flores, L., Asencio, J., Chachapoyas, A., Campaña, V., Sutter, R., Isla, A., Tschinkel, K., Witt, R., Shiguekawa, A., Rivera Prince, J. A., Gagnon, C. M., Avila-Mata, C., Tokanai, F., Aldama-Reyna, C. W. & Capriles, J. M., 2024, In: Nawpa Pacha. 44, 1, p. 69-154 86 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Geochronological and Geoarchaeological Context of the Clovis-Age La Prele Mammoth Site (48CO1401), Converse County, Wyoming
Allaun, S. A., Surovell, T. A., Vance Haynes, C., Pelton, S. R., Mackie, M. E., Kelly, R. L., O’Brien, M., Sanders, P. H., Capriles, J. M. & Mahan, S., 2023, In: PaleoAmerica. 9, 3, p. 174-193 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A Review of Archaeological and Paleoecological Radiocarbon Dating in Bolivia
Capriles, J. M., 2023, In: Open Quaternary. 9, 2.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
The Bolivian Radiocarbon Database: A Countrywide Compilation of Radiocarbon Dates
Capriles, J. M., 2023, In: Journal of Open Archaeology Data. 11, 6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Precipitation variability, vegetation turnover, and anthropogenic disturbance over the last millennium in the Atacama highlands of northern Chile (19°S)
Domic, A. I., de Porras, M. E., Capriles, J. M., Zamora-Allendes, A., Ivory, S. J. & Maldonado, A., May 2023, In: Holocene. 33, 5, p. 536-549 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review