Ancient Chilean Mummies Tie Smallpox to European Contact in the Americas
TL;DR
Genetic analysis of two Chilean mummies dated 1492–1631 recovered the oldest smallpox DNA known in the Americas, belonging to an extinct variola lineage that bridges Old World European strains with later variants and providing direct molecular evidence that Europeans introduced smallpox to Indigenous populations during colonization.
- Chilean Mummies Yield First Genetic Proof Europeans Brought Smallpox to Americas Ground News
- ‘This Is Very Strange’: Ancient Smallpox May Have Been Less Deadly The New York Times
- 'Clear Evidence': Ancient DNA From Chilean Mummies Reveals Who Brought Smallpox to The Americas ScienceAlert
- Ancient DNA from Chilean mummies links smallpox to colonisation Euronews.com
- Ancient mummy DNA provides scientific evidence that colonization brought smallpox to the Americas Medical Xpress
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