Luis FLORES BLANCO
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950 Cady Mall Matthews Center 203T Tempe, AZ 85287
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Luis Flores-Blanco, PhD, is currently a Postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University, specializing in the emergence of complex societies in the Andean highlands. A Peruvian archaeologist, Luis obtained his PhD from UC Davis, where he focused on the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to early farming communities in the Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru, between 5000 and 3000 years ago. He also holds a Master's degree in Prehistory from the Universidad Complutense in Spain and studied at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.
Luis has published in high-impact journals, and his work continues to contribute to the study of Andean prehistory and the origins of complex societies. He is committed to collaborative, interdisciplinary research and welcomes opportunities to work with students and colleagues interested in archaeological science and Andean archaeology.
Education
- PhD. Anthropology, University of California, Davis, 2024
- MA. Anthropology, University of California, Davis, 2021
- MA. Prehistoric Archaeology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 2013
- Lic. Arqueología, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Perú, 2006
Luis’s research combines systematic fieldwork, archaeometric techniques, and quantitative archaeology to investigate long-term patterns of social change in the Andean highlands. He conducts systematic surveys and excavations at early village and ceremonial sites in the Andes, especially Central Coast and Lake Titicaca Basin (Peru), focusing on the emergence of leadership and food inequality between 5000 and 3000 years ago. His work draws on spatial analysis, archaeometric methods, lithics, and he has extensive experience managing and interpreting isotopic data—particularly carbon and nitrogen isotopes—to reconstruct ancient diets and mobility patterns. Across these projects, Luis is focus on interdisciplinary approaches that bridge field archaeology and laboratory science.
- Flores-Blanco, M. Hall, L. Hinostroza, J. Eerkens, M. Aldenderfer, R. Haas (2025). Altiplano agricultural origins was a process of economic resilience, not hardship: Isotope chemistry, zooarchaeology, and archaeobotany in the Titicaca Basin, 5.5-3 ka. PLOS One 20(6): e0325626. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325626
- Flores-Blanco, L. & M. Aldenderfer (2025). Kaillachuro: Early Monumental Architecture in the Titicaca Basin, 5000-3500 BP. Antiquity. 99(405). https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.40
- Cuellar, L., Smallwood, A. M., Aldenderfer, M., & Flores-Blanco, L. (2024). Early Evidence of Atlatl Use in the Titicaca Basin: A Lithic, Microwear, and Typological Analysis. Lithic Technology, 1-17. Full article: Early Evidence of Atlatl Use in the Titicaca Basin: A Lithic, Microwear, and Typological Analysis
- Flores-Blanco, L., Cuellar, L., Aldenderfer, M., Stanish, C., & Haas, R. (2024). Did archery technology precipitate complexity in the Titicaca Basin? A metric analysis of projectile points, 11–1 ka. Quaternary International, 704, 17-33. Did archery technology precipitate complexity in the Titicaca Basin? A metric analysis of projectile points, 11–1 ka - ScienceDirect
- Chen, C. K., Flores-Blanco, L., & Haas, R. (2022). Why did projectile-point size increase in the Andean Altiplano Archaic? An experimental atlatl analysis. Latin American Antiquity, 33(3), 616-631. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2021.70
- Flores-Blanco, Luis, ... & Alarcón, C. (2022). Reconstructing the sequence of an Inca Period (1470-1532 CE) camelid sacrifice at El Pacífico, Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 41, 103247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103247
- Chen, C. K., Flores-Blanco, Luis, & Haas, R. (2021). Why Did Projectile-Point Size Increase in the Andean Altiplano Archaic? An Experimental Atlatl Analysis. Latin American Antiquity, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2021.70
- Flores Blanco, Luis (ed.). (2018). Monumentos, Lugares, Ancestros. Paisajes Andinos y Lejanos (Monuments, Places, Ancestors. Andean and distant landscapes). Ed. Avqui, Lima.
- Flores, Luis. (2017). El Pacifico: early architecture and landscape during the Formative period of the Central Andes. Antiquity 91 (357): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2017.40
To conduct research related to Andean Archaeology, Elementary analysis data, Statistical of elemental compositional data, and Spatial analysis. Luis is working at ASU under the coordination of Dr. Ryan Williams.
Courses
2026 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |
| ASB 223 | Aztecs, Incas and Mayas |