The genomes are the first-ever DNA evidence that proves European colonization introduced smallpox to the Americas, according to a paper that published Thursday (July 30) in the journal Science.
Experts have estimated that the disease caused the deaths of three to four million Indigenous people with no prior immunity to the disease. The combination of smallpox, violence, slavery and other diseases wiped out about 90% of the original inhabitants of the Americas by 1600.
In the new study, the researchers identified ancient smallpox virus DNA from the bones of two mummified Indigenous Inca individuals from northern Chile: an adult female and an adult male who lived between 1492 and 1631.
Analysis of the two ancient viral genomes showed them to be almost identical, suggesting the two individuals were likely infected during the same outbreak or by the same circulating strain.
A view of Camarones 9, the Inca period cemetery in northern Chile where the mummies were discovered. (Image credit: Bernardo Arriaza)"We provide the first molecular evidence of smallpox introduction to the Americas through colonization," Nakagome said.
The genome also showed that, through a series of mutations, the genes that enable variola to infect species other than humans — genes present in related viruses that infect animals, like mpox or cowpox — were inactivated, Bruno Romero González, a computational biologist at Trinity College Dublin and lead author of the study, told Live Science. Over time, this ancient variola strain became less able to infect animals. "Because of that, variola started to focus on targeting only humans," Romero González said, ultimately adapting to become more successful in infecting people.
Related StoriesThe researchers hope that more samples of ancient variola virus are found throughout the Americas, to complete the picture of smallpox's evolution and movement.
The study adds to growing evidence for smallpox on ancient Indigenous skeletons, including two 16th-century toddlers buried in Peru whose bones have lesions suggestive of smallpox infection.
How much do you know about the first people to reach the Americas? Find out with our First Americans quiz.
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