What's happened
New genetic analysis of Chilean mummies links smallpox to European strains, providing the strongest outside-Americas connection yet and clarifying how the disease spread during colonization. Two ancient infections date to 1492–1631, suggesting European origins for the American strains.
What's behind the headline?
Key questions
- What changed here? The genome data refines origin and spread timing.
- Who benefits? Historians and epidemiologists understanding pathogen movement; policymakers may use historical context to inform biosecurity narratives.
Why it matters
- The study strengthens the link between European origin and American smallpox strains, clarifying a long-standing debate.
- It underscores how colonial networks enabled disease spread, with real human costs in Indigenous populations.
Forecast
- Future ancient-DNA work will likely map more lineages, potentially shifting the timeline of early outbreaks and informing how we think about historical pandemics.
How we got here
Scientists analyzed 13 bone samples from Camarones, Chile, finding two smallpox infections in ancient DNA. Dating places deaths between 1492 and 1631. The research refines how smallpox traveled to the Americas and evolved before eradication in 1980, highlighting the human cost of colonization.
Our analysis
Independent reports confirm the Chilean mummies and the dating; AP News and the New York Times provide parallel coverage with similar details. The University of Chile and Trinity College Dublin researchers lead the study, published in Science.
Go deeper
- What does this mean for our understanding of colonization-era diseases?
- How might future ancient-DNA work alter current historical timelines?
- Are there other sites where we expect similar findings?
More on these topics
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Science - Academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Science is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, is currently circulated weekly and has a subscriber base of around 130,000. Because institutional subscriptions and online access serve a larger audience, its estimated readership is over 400,000 people. Science is based in the District of Columbia, United States, with a second office in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom.
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Indiana University - University system, Indiana, United States
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Trinity College, Dublin - Constituent college of the University of Dublin in Ireland
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, branded by the board as Trinity College, the University of Dublin, and officially incorporated as Trinity College Dublin (TCD) (Irish: Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath), is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin in Ireland. Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I through a royal charter, it is one of the seven ancient universities of Great Britain and Ireland. As Ireland's oldest university, Trinity contributed to Irish literature during the Victorian and Georgian eras and played a notable role in the recognition of Dublin as a UNESCO City of Literature. Trinity was established to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, with Provost Adam Loftus christening it after Trinity College, Cambridge. Built on the site of the former Priory of All Hallows demolished by King Henry VIII, it was the Protestant university of the Ascendancy ruling elite for over two centuries, and was therefore associated with social elitism for most of its history. Trinity has three faculties comprising 25 schools, and affiliated institutions include the Royal Irish Academy of Music, the Lir Academy...
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