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Phoenix666 writes:

During the Inca civilization, which thrived in South America before the arrival of Europeans, these ritual sacrifices were known as "capococha." One of the victims was a 7-year-old boy who lived more than 500 years ago. His frozen, mummified remains were discovered at the edge of Argentina's Aconcagua, the tallest mountain outside of Asia.

Hikers found the mummy in 1985. Now, 30 years later, scientists have sequenced some of the boy's DNA and used it to learn more about the rise and extent of the Inca Empire. Their findings were published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
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Those results placed the boy "perfectly" within a genetic population, or haplogroup, known as C1b that is typical of Native Americans, the study authors reported. Previous research has established that one of the people who first populated the Americas brought this genetic signature from Beringia (the land mass that once connected Siberia and Alaska) or the northern tip of North America.

However, the boy's mitochondrial genome had 10 distinct mutations that had not been seen together before in either ancient or modern DNA. The researchers named this branch of the haplotype "C1bi" (the "i" stands for Inca). The fact that his genetic signature was unique offers further evidence that the DNA sample wasn't contaminated, the researchers wrote.

Some of those 10 mutations are or were shared by others, and the researchers used that information to make some educated guesses about the boy's life and times. Most likely, his ancestors had been in South America for a long time, originating near the Andes about 14,000 years ago, they wrote.

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