The Chachapoyas region was conquered by the Inca Empire in the late 15th century. Inca oral histories, written down after the Spanish conquest, claim that the native population was forcibly resettled out of Chachapoyas and dispersed across the Inca Empire. However, a new study uses genetic evidence to reveal that despite Inca conquest, the population of Chachapoyas has remained genetically distinct, and not assimilated with that of the Inca heartland.