Erik Otárola-Castillo

Computational anthropology, archaeology, and quantitative inference

Erik Otárola-Castillo is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University whose research links hunter-gatherer ecology, archaeology, and quantitative method.

His work develops Bayesian, morphometric, and simulation-based approaches for questions about diet, mobility, faunal transport, bone-surface modification, and archaeological inference.

Current research areas

• Energetic and ecological modeling of forager behavior and diet.
• Bayesian and likelihood-based inference in archaeology.
• Morphometric approaches to lithics and bone-surface modifications.
• Quantitative archaeology across the Americas, Africa, and comparative human evolution.

Recent publications

• A New Approach to the Quantitative Analysis of Bone Surface Modifications: the Bowser Road Mastodon and Implications for the Data to Understand Human-Megafauna Interactions in North America (2023)
  Erik R. Otárola-Castillo, Melissa G. Torquato, Trevor L. Keevil, Alejandra L. May, Sarah N. Coon, Evalyn J. Stow, Jacob B. Rapes, Jacob A. Harris, Curtis W. Marean, Metin I. Eren, and John J. Shea
• The Bayesian Inferential Paradigm in Archaeology (2023)
  Erik Otárola-Castillo, Melissa G. Torquato, and Caitlin E. Buck
• Urbanization, migration, and indigenous health in Peru (2023)
  Amanda Veile, Rocío Esmeralda Chávez Cabello, Erik Otárola-Castillo, Violeta Rojas Bravo, and Gracie Turner
• Beyond Chronology, Using Bayesian Inference to Evaluate Hypotheses in Archaeology (2022)
  Erik Otárola-Castillo, Melissa G. Torquato, Jesse Wolfhagen, Matthew E. Hill Jr., and Caitlin E. Buck
• Machine learning, bootstrapping, null models and why we are still not 100% sure which marks were made by crocodiles (2022)
  Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, Erik Otárola-Castillo, Melissa G. Torquato, and Trevor L. Keevil
• Parts and Wholes: Reduction Allometry and Modularity in Experimental Folsom Points (2022)
  Michael J. Shott and Erik Otárola-Castillo
• Does the Evidence at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (Uruguay) Support the Claim of Human Occupation 30,000 Years Ago? (2022)
  Justin A. Holcomb, Rolfe D. Mandel, Erik Otárola-Castillo, Kurt Rademaker, Richard L. Rosencrance, Katelyn N. McDonough, D. Shane Miller, and Brian T. Wygal
• Household conditions modulate associations between cesarean delivery and childhood growth (2022)
  Amanda J. Veile, Karen L. Kramer, and Erik Otárola-Castillo
• Integrated evidence-based extent of occurrence for North American bison (Bison bison) since 1500 CE and before (2023)
  Jeff M. Martin, Rachel A. Short, Glenn E. Plumb, Lauren Markewicz, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Bradly Wehus-Tow, Erik Otárola-Castillo, and Matthew E. Hill Jr.
• Early human impacts and ecosystem reorganization in southern-central Africa (2021)
  Jessica C. Thompson, David K. Wright, Sarah J. Ivory, Jeong-Heon Choi, Sheila Nightingale, Alex Mackay, Flora Schilt, Erik Otárola-Castillo, and colleagues
• Significant northwest shift in suitable climate expected for North American bison by the year 2100 (2026)
  Alex B. Shupinski, Jeff M. Martin, Brent L. Brock, Erik Otárola-Castillo, Matthew E. Hill Jr., Chris Widga, Joshua L. Rudnik, and Rachel A. Short

Profile links

Purdue faculty profile
Google Scholar profile
TIME author page
Blog posts by Erik