Archaeologists in Peru have discovered two 16th-century child graves showing evidence of smallpox. This finding indicates that the foreign disease spread rapidly as the indigenous population came into contact with Europeans.
Recent archaeological excavations in Huanchaco, a small fishing town on the northwest coast of Peru, have revealed a cemetery linked to a colonial church, one of the earliest in the region, built by the Spanish between 1535 and 1540.
The 120 graves represent the colonial population and reflect the early cultural changes of colonization around 1540, wherein a cross imported from Europe was included in the burial of indigenous individuals.
The burial of a 1.5-year-old child shows evidence of smallpox in Peru. (Photo: Gabriel Prieto/Huanchaco Archaeological Program)
Evidence of Smallpox Spread in Peru
Upon examining the skeletons, researchers observed significant impacts of colonization on the bones of two children buried in the Huanchaco Church Cemetery: the spread of smallpox in a community that had never experienced the disease before, according to a new study published in the June issue of the International Journal of Paleopathology.
Smallpox, caused by the variola virus, was a common cause of death in 16th-century America. The research suggests that it may have reached northwest Peru with Francisco Pizarro and his soldiers in the late 1530s, resulting in the loss of about 70% of the indigenous Inca population by 1620.
The study indicates that the skeletons of the two children, approximately 18 months old at the time of their death, exhibit similar bone changes. Specifically, the researchers identified numerous destructive lesions resembling large holes in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles of the children. This pattern corresponds with an infection known as variolous osteomyelitis, caused by the smallpox virus.
These are the earliest cases of osteomyelitis identified in South America, which is surprising considering that numerous outbreaks of smallpox occurred following contact with Europeans.
The researchers noted: Not all individuals infected with smallpox exhibit bone changes—this rate is approximately 5% to 20% in children under five years old—but this proportion suggests many archaeological cases remain unidentified.
Smallpox has existed for at least three millennia, with some of the earliest evidence coming from characteristic rashes on the skin of Egyptian mummies. The disease caused many epidemics over centuries, leading to millions of deaths, until it was eradicated in 1980 due to a worldwide vaccination campaign.
