The History of Alpacas

Alpacas and llamas are members of the camelid family of mammals.  The paleontogical record indicates that camelids first appeared on the North American continent during the Eocene epoch, which ended approximately 33 million years ago.

The history of alpacas begins in the mists of South American prehistory. There is evidence that alpacas were domesticated as much as 6000 years ago. The fact that the we do not have a record of any written language developed by the South American civilizations complicates the effort to document the early history of the alpaca.

Alpacas and llamas held a special place in ancient Andean societies.  The alpaca in particular was seen as a gift from Pachamama.  These peoples made clothing from the fiber, fiber from the dung, meals from the meat and leather from the hides.  Further, textiles were a central part of their social system.  It should come as no surprise that alpacas assumed a religious significance, or that their form appears in amulets and other religious objects.  Conopas are an example of this.

Alpacas and the Andean culture were (and are) inextricably linked.  Textiles were a central part of society.  Khipus - intricately knotted strings -  are acknowledged as being used for mathematical records.  In recent decades theories have emerged that they and other forms of textiles actually formed the basis a written language for the Inca peoples.