Centuries after smallpox swept through the Americas in the wake of European colonization, two mummified individuals buried in Chile have yielded fragments of the virus's ancient DNA — molecular testimony to one of history's most devastating encounters between worlds. Researchers have now sequenced these genomes, placing them on the viral family tree between medieval European strains and later global variants, confirming that the disease crossed the Atlantic alongside the conquistadors. The discovery does more than corroborate the historical record; it illuminates how smallpox, through a long p
Ancient smallpox DNA in Chilean mummies confirms European origin of devastating pandemic
Smallpox epidemics in the 16th century caused catastrophic loss of Indigenous life in the Americas following European colonization.