The findings could also help improve understanding of how pathogens evolve, with potential relevance for diseases such as ...

The mummies of two people who lived in Chile more than 400 years ago carry DNA from smallpox, providing the first molecular ...

Definitive proof of smallpox was found in the remains of two people who lived in the Inca Empire during the start of Spanish ...

A groundbreaking scientific discovery has provided the first molecular evidence that European colonizers brought devastating ...

Researchers in Peru believe they have traced the origins of the Incas — the largest pre-Hispanic civilization in the Americas — through the DNA of the modern-day descendants of their emperors. From ...

Who lived at Machu Picchu at its height? A new study, published in Science Advances, used ancient DNA to find out for the first time where workers buried more than 500 years ago came from within the ...

Ancient DNA from Chilean mummies is the first ever molecular evidence that European colonizers brought smallpox to the Americas, decimating Indigenous populations.

New DNA analysis reveals that people from as far as Amazonia once lived and worked in the Inca royal estate. By Laura Baisas Published Jul 26, 2023 2:00 PM EDT Add Popular Science (opens in a new tab) ...

Standing atop the mountains in the southern highlands of Peru is the 15th-century marvel of the Inca empire, Machu Picchu. Today, the citadel is a global tourist attraction and an icon of precolonial ...

The Inca city in Peru is one of the most recognizable historical sites in the world. Built in the mid-15th century, it served as a royal estate for the rulers of the Inca Empire before the arrival of ...