Archaeologists have debated for decades how deadly the colonization of the Americas was. They’ve just found a key piece of the puzzle

DNA from two Inca mummies at Camarones 9 in northern Chile confirmed the presence of variola virus.

The remains, a woman and a young man, date to between 1492 and 1631, matching the era of European colonization.

The viral genome is closely related to European lineages, strengthening the case that colonizers introduced smallpox to the Americas.

The study provides the first direct molecular evidence for the colonial origin of smallpox in the Americas.