Indigenous communities in the Andes domesticated the potato between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, making this starch, vitamin, mineral, and fibre-rich tuber a central part of their diet. This long-standing dietary reliance led to genetic adaptations, still observed in their Peruvian descendants. New genomic research now documents how these descendants, speakers of the Quechua language from the historic Inca Empire, underwent fortification involving the AMY1 gene, which is crucial for starch digestion – a function highly beneficial for a potato-centric diet. The study found these individuals possess an average of 10 AMY1 copies – two to four more than most people, and a number unmatched globally. Significantly, the onset of these genetic changes in this population coincided precisely with the advent of potato domestication.…