All posts tagged: Andean

Study shows how a potato-based diet changed the genetics of Andean people

Study shows how a potato-based diet changed the genetics of Andean people

Published by Sam Flores

May 7 : Indigenous people in the Andes domesticated the potato – a great source of starch, vitamins, minerals and fiber – 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, making this tuber a central part of their diet. These people then experienced genetic adaptations beneficial for such a diet that are still seen in their descendants living in Peru. New genomic research documents how these descendants – speakers of the Quechua language of the once-great Inca Empire – underwent fortification involving a gene called AMY1 that is involved in starch digestion, a function useful for people with a potato-centric diet. The study found that these people possess an average of 10 copies of AMY1 – two to four more than most people. No other known population globally exceeds that number. The study also showed that the onset of these genetic changes in this population coincided with the advent of potato domestication. “It is a wonderful case of culture shaping biology,” said evolutionary and anthropological geneticist Omer Gokcumen of the University at Buffalo, one of the senior authors …

Rare Andean bear captured in stunning photograph

Rare Andean bear captured in stunning photograph

Published by skeptic

Sebastian Di Domenico, Columbia, shortlist, Latin America Professional Award, Sony World Photography Awards 2026 Sebastian Di Domenico Sony World Photography Awards This magnificent Andean bear peers out from a perch on a mossy branch in the Chingaza Ecopalacio Reserve in Colombia. Its shaggy black coat and curled claws were captured by photographer Sebastian Di Domenico while he was guiding hikers in the forest. “All of a sudden, one of the group pointed at the bear above us,” says Di Domenico, whose photo was shortlisted in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. The bear is believed to be a roughly 5-year-old male newly visiting the area, as it hadn’t been seen before. It may have been drawn to the area by a mate, says Di Domenico. “That day, there was another bear on a tree close by, so we actually think they might have been mating up in the trees.” Sadly, habitat loss due to expanding crops, roads and mining has pushed the species (Tremarctos ornatus) to raid crops and kill livestock, prompting people to illegally …

Ancient Andean parrot trade route stretched over 300 miles

Ancient Andean parrot trade route stretched over 300 miles

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Ancient parrots really got around. A new analysis of their DNA found that humans transported living Amazonian macaw parrots across the Andes mountains to coastal Peru hundreds of years before the Inca Empire. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, and reveal a highly sophisticated and long-distance bird trading network across deserts, highlands, and rainforests. A team of researchers from Peru, Spain, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia analyzed parrot feathers that were discovered at Pachacamac in present-day Peru. The village on the central coast was a major religious center for the Andean civilization and was first inhabited about 200 BCE. This site is home to the Temple of the Sun and Oracle of Pachacamac, which the early Spanish explorers wrote about. Pachacamac is also far outside the parrots’ native rainforest range.  “Through combining ancient DNA sequencing, isotope chemistry and computational landscape modelling, we have been able to trace how and …