Alpacas, valued for their silky fiber, in their corrals in the southern Andes of Peru.
Daniel Huillca. TAFOS Photographic Archive/PUCP, Lima, Peru.The camelids, llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos), were the
only large mammals to have been domesticated in the western hemisphere.
Llamas may have been domesticated from a northern variant of wild guanacos
(L. guanicoe) whose populations were widely distributed on both sides of the
Andes from Peru to Tierra del Fuego. Descendant llamas are currently found in
South America from Ecuador south to northern Argentina and central Chile.
Imperial Inca expansion amplified their distribution. Alpacas may have been
domesticated from a northern form of wild vicuñas (V. vicugna) whose
populations have a restricted geographical distribution in the high Andes above
3,000 meters (9,843 feet) above sea level. Descendant alpacas in South America
are today found in high-altitude pastures (bofedales) from central Peru to
northern Chile, and in coastal areas of Peru. Although it is unknown when
camelids were first domesticated, growing evidence suggests they had assumed
importance to highland peoples by at least 8,500 years ago. Although four
species of potentially interbreeding hybridizing camelids are scientifically
recognized, indigenous classification includes many variants based upon
elaborate hierarchies of color and fiber characters. Pre-Hispanic management
likely involved strict herd control.