Archive · 31 Jul 2026
Smallpox DNA Found in 16th-Century Chilean Mummies
Scientists found tiny pieces of the smallpox virus in two old mummies from Chile.
The mummies were buried in the 1500s, right after the Spanish came to the Americas.
The virus DNA shows it was a type that lived between older European strains and later ones.
This is the first time scientists have found the virus itself in the New World.
It helps us understand how the disease spread and changed over time.
Researchers extracted variola virus DNA from two naturally mummified Chilean mummies dating to the early Spanish colonial period.
The viral genomes belong to an extinct lineage between medieval European strains and later 19th‑century strains.
Findings provide first direct molecular evidence that smallpox was carried from Europe to the Americas during Spanish conquest.
The mummies were buried in bundles near Camarones Cove, Chile, and likely died in the 16th century during the Inca Empire’s collapse.
The study shows the virus evolved slowly during the 16th‑century epidemics, reaching an evolutionary optimum before the 1796 vaccine.
- Who
- Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and Universidad de Chile
- What
- Recovered smallpox (variola virus) DNA from two naturally mummified Chilean mummies
- When
- Mummies dated to the 16th century; study published in 2024
- Where
- Camarones Cove, Chile, within the former Inca Empire
- Why
- To provide direct evidence of smallpox transmission from Europe to the Americas and study its evolution
- Virus lineage
- Extinct lineage between medieval European and later strains
- Mummy age
- 16th century
- Location
- Camarones Cove, Chile
- Study published
- 2024
- First molecular evidence of smallpox in New World
- Yes