BOLD

The project BOLD - Bolivian Mummies and Disease, will  focus on the analysis of high-resolution genomic data from pre-Columbian mummied individuals from Bolivia. In addition, we aim to explore ancient microbial pathogens (bacteria, fungus, and viral species) that might have played an integral role in health and disease in such ancient populations from the Andean region of South America. The BOLD project combines state-of-the-art methodologies from ancient DNA and metagenomics research in ancient mummies, to bring a new perspective to the study of the genetic diversity and the overall health status in pre-Columbian Americas. Overall, the study of ancient pathogens recovered from archaeological contexts in the Americas is a promising area of research, and new discoveries will illuminate the human past of this part of the world, to gain insights into the complex evolutionary history of disease and contact before and after the European arrival. Finally, ancient pathogens recovered from pre-Columbian mummies will help to reconstruct plausible epidemiological scenarios of well-documented pre and post-colonial epidemics.