Chilean Mummies Yield First Genetic Proof Europeans Brought Smallpox to Americas
Researchers found the oldest smallpox DNA in the Americas in two naturally mummified Indigenous people, strengthening evidence that European colonization introduced the virus.
- Researchers at Trinity College Dublin identified the oldest viral smallpox DNA in the Americas from two Chilean mummies, providing the first direct molecular evidence of the pathogen in the region.
- Smallpox decimated Indigenous populations after European colonizers arrived in the Americas during the late 15th century, with the mummies dated to between 1492 and 1631.
- Molecular analysis indicates the strains existed in a now-extinct variola virus lineage bridging Old World European variants and later types, with genetic deceleration during colonial expansion.
- This discovery provides the first molecular confirmation that smallpox was carried to the Americas during the colonial period, proving Europe directly introduced the virus to Indigenous populations.
- Evidence helps clarify how the virus reached remote regions, as written records for Chile begin significantly later than the colonial era, filling a critical historical gap.
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An international team provides the clearest evidence so far that European colonization has brought smallpox into the New World.
Scientists Recover Smallpox DNA From Centuries-Old Mummies, Revealing How the Deadly Virus Spread in South America
Scientists recovered ancient smallpox DNA from two Indigenous mummies in Chile, providing the first genetic evidence that the virus spread through South America during European colonization.
Ancient Mummy DNA Provides Evidence That Colonization Brought Smallpox to Americas
(MedPage Today) -- Ancient mummy DNA recovered in Chile has yielded the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas. Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in human history before it was eradicated in 1980...
A group of scientists today announced that they had obtained the first direct biological evidence that the smallpox epidemic that killed millions of Native Americans in the 16th century was introduced into the region by European explorers. Crossing the virus between continents is already a relatively consensual fact among historians, but a biological connection had not yet been made between the variants of the pathogens that circulated in Europe…
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