‘This is very strange’: Ancient smallpox may have been less deadly

PremiumCarl ZimmerNew York Times·11 Aug, 2026 02:06 AM8 mins to readTransmission Electron Micrograph of smallpox viruses. For the first time, scientists have found ancient smallpox genomes from the Americas, hiding in skeletons in Chile that date back about 500 years. Photo / Phanie via AFPScientists have found smallpox viruses in the remains of people in Chile from around 500 years ago, revealing how the virus may have evolved into a global killer.

Perhaps no disease has inspired more terror than smallpox. Edward Jenner, who invented the smallpox vaccine in 1796, called it “the