Marta Alfonso-Durruty, PhD

Associate Professor

SASW Department, Kansas State University,

Waters Hall 008, Manhattan KS 66506

Modern and Ancient Studies Laboratory (MAS LAB)

A native Chilean Dr. Alfonso-Durruty researches prehistoric human remains from Chile. In her studies, Dr. Alfonso-Durruty examines the health status, degree of environmental and social adaptation, and the social dynamics of past populations. Dr. Alfonso-Durruty is particularly interested on the effects of diet on health, the health consequences of the transition to agriculture, gender and social status differences, and the bioarchaeology of hunter-gatherers, especially in Patagonia.

Dr. Alfonso Durruty is a National Geographic Explorer (since 2015), and is an international collaborator on several research grants in Chile. Her current research projects are on: 1) genetic origins of prehistoric and living Native groups from Fuego-Patagonia, Chile, 2) dietary diversity and changes in prehistoric groups from the semiarid region of Chile, and 3) Dietary composition and diversity among the ancient peoples of Fuego-Patagonia. Dr. Alfonso-Durruty specializes in osteological, dietary, and dental analysis.

Dr. Alfonso-Durruty is the bioarchaeology Associate Editor of Chungara, and Magallania.

Selected Publications (last 5 years. Click here to request copies)

Alfonso-Durruty MA, Misarti N, Becker C, Henríquez Urzúa M, Troncoso A. Division of labor and sex (in)equality among the marine Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers of north-central Chile (5,500-2,000 cal BP). International Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology: 1–25. https://doi-org.er.lib.k-state.edu/10.1080/15564894.2026.2727553

D´Angelo del Campo MD, Magalhães BM, Otero F, L’Heureux L, Franco NV, Barberena R, Medialdea L, Alfonso-Durruty M, Borrero LA. 2025. Evidence of interpersonal violence through nasal fractures in Late Holocene Southern Patagonia. International Journal of Paleopathology 50: 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.07.002

Troncoso A., Pacual D., Escudero, A, Hernández D, Pino M, González R, Alfonso-Durruty M, López P, Misarti N, Chávez MA, Belmar C, Moya F, Méndez C, Vera F, Villalón D, Becker C. 2024. Cazadores-Recolectores-Pescadores Del Holoceno Medio-Tardío en el Norte Semiárido de Chile: Revisitando Punta Teatinos (29°S). Latin Amercian Antiquity. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2023.45

Alfonso-Durruty M, Blom D (eds). 2023. Foodways of the Ancient Andes. Transforming diet, cuisine and society. University of Arizona Press. Tucson, Arizona

Blom D, Alfonso-Durruty M. 2023. Introduction: the transformative nurture of food. In: Foodways of the Ancient Andes. Transforming diet, cuisine, and society. University of Arizona Press.

Alfonso-Durruty M, Misarti N, Tronscoso A. 2023. The Dietary Impact of the Inka’s Political Strategies in the Semi- Arid Region (30°– 31° S. Lat) of Northern Chile. In: Foodways of the Ancient Andes. Transforming diet, cuisine, and society. University of Arizona Press.

Balentine CM^†, Alfonso-Durruty M^†, Reynolds AW, Vilar M, Morello F, San Román M, Springs LC, Smith RW, Archer SM, Mata-Míguez J, Wing N, Bolnick D. 2023. Evaluating population histories in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, Chile, using ancient mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 180 (1): 144-161. ^†These authors contributed equally to this paper.

Alfonso-Durruty M, Palacios C, Morello F. 2021. Haunting Bodies: Lethal violence in three Late Holocene Pre-Contact Hunter-Gatherers of southernmost Patagonia (52-56°S, Chile). Bioarchaeology International 5 (1-2): 68-77.