The puzzle of the origin of the Incas may finally be solved since scientists have conducted significant DNA study on the descendants of emperors.

Scientists think they could have found where the Incas originated from due to a significant study conducted on the DNA of descendants Inca emperors.

The pre-Hispanic Tahuantinsuyo empire the Incas established, which includes the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Machu Picchu, could be counted among the biggest that ever existed in the Americas, with emperors controlling their enormous amount of people from the capital of Cusco.

The Incas once had a flourishing empire which was in existence for more than 200 years and which only ended after the arrival of Spanish conquerors during the 16th century.

It’s down to the huge amount of attention and enthusiasm that scientists Jose Sandoval and Ricardo Fujita have for the ancient Inca culture the two men decided to try to discover what the genetic makeup of the Incas could be. Fujita and Sandoval intent on discovering whether two legends about the source of the Incas were right.

The very first of those legends indicated the Incas originated from the Puno region of Peru near Lake Titicaca, while the second claimed that in reality the Incas were actually from Cusco near Pacaritambo mountain.

To ascertain which, if any, of those legends were true, the two scientists obtained DNA samples from individuals who lived in the two areas, according to Fujita.

“After three years of tracking the genetic fingerprints of the descendants, we confirm that the two legends explaining the origin of the Inca civilization could be related. They were compared with our genealogical base of more than 3,000 people to reconstruct the genealogical tree of all individuals. We finally reduced this base to almost 200 people sharing genetic similarities close to the Inca nobility.”

It was ascertained that Inca emperors descended from both lines and the two legends were equally accurate, as Sandoval explained.

“The conclusion we came to is that the Tahuantinsuyo nobility is descended from two lines, one in the region of Lake Titicaca, the other around the mountain of Pacaritambo in Cusco. That confirms the legends.”

Ricardo Fujita has stated that future study on the source of the Incas will be centered on extracting DNA from mummies”to form the most complete picture of the origin of the most important pre-Hispanic civilization.”