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"Our Ancient Alpacas"
An article by Alice Brown
Camelid history is long and varied. It is believed that Camelids lived in North America about 40 million years ago, according to some scientists, and from these sprang all the camelids we know today. The Bactrian Camel and the Dromedary Camel migrated to Asia about 3 million years ago and other camels migrated to South America about 2 million yeas ago, developing into the guanaco and the wild vicuña. DNA work by Dr. Jane Wheeler supports the hypothesis that the alpaca was domesticated from the vicuña about 6000-7000 years ago. At this time the animals took on the alpaca characteristics that we know today. For example, the wonderful colors that we know today were able to develop because the natural camouflage of the vicuña coloration was no longer needed for survival. The alpaca also developed a continuously growing fleece, something that the wild vicuña did not possess. Various cultures of South American people probably bred the alpaca, which over the centuries was found to have very fine fiber. 1,000-year-old mummies of alpacas show evidence of selective breeding for fine fiber in the 16-17 micron range according to analysis of the alpaca mummies fiber by Dr. Jane Wheeler.
By what people were these animals domesticated? It is not definitively known, but when the Quechua speaking Incas came along, beginning in about 1100 A.D., the alpaca was well domesticated and a major part of the life of the Indians.
For the Incas the alpaca provided food, and more importantly fiber to make cloth. As cloth makers, the Inca Indian weavers made fabrics that outshone the fabrics of their later European conquerors. According to the article "Secrets of the Alpaca Mummies" by Heather Pringle from Discover Volume 22 issue #4, the Incas wove woolen fabric from the fleece of the alpaca. The material thus woven was so soft that it was prized above almost everything else in the Incan Empire, including its gold and silver.
Alpaca with "vicuna color pattern"
Alpaca fiber clothed the Incan royalty and gifts of the soft fabric were made to those nobles loyal to their rulers. These fabrics were so precious to the Incas they were considered the foundation of Incan wealth.
When the Spanish Europeans invaded South America about 500 years ago they found the alpacas. Thinking the animals were not as good as their own sheep, the Conquistadors set out to eradicate the animals, knowing that the Incan Civilization relied on these animals for their livelihood. At that time, the alpacas, as a central part of Incan society, were almost exterminated. Fortunately, some of the Indians who dwelled in the higher elevations, saw to it that the alpacas were moved higher into the mountains. This strategy ultimately saved the species from extinction. It is estimated that there were from 40-50 million alpacas in pre-colonial South America and that number is today greatly reduced. Today there are only about 3 million alpacas in the realm that once belonged to the Incas.
One site in the Peruvian Andes provides evidence of alpaca domestication. The site, called Telarmachay, shows, through animal remains, that there was a gradual shift from the generalized hunting of vicuña, guanaco, and deer, to the specialized hunting of vicuña and guanaco. The Telarmachay site helps date alpaca domestication and provides the first clues that alpacas were domesticated from the vicuña. For example, the deciduous incisor teeth of the alpaca and the permanent incisors have the same dental morphology as deciduous vicuña teeth. The retention of juvenile vicuña dental traits in the alpaca suggests an ancestral relationship. Llamas have a dental morphology that differs from the vicuña and alpaca, but is identical to the guanaco.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis, which is only maternally inherited, is often used to determine the evolutionary history of species. Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of Camelids in South America show two distinct genetic groups representing two divergent evolutionary lineages from the vicuña and the guanaco. Research by Dr. Jane Wheeler at El Yaral, an archaeological site in Southern Peru with 900-1000-year-old mummified llamas and alpacas, provides the first view of preconquest camelids.
Not only were alpacas important sources of fiber and food for their Indian domesticators, but the animals were involved in many aspects of religious culture. One religious ritual was to sacrifice by a blow between the ears of the alpaca, and then to bury their remains beneath their house floors. Because of the extremely arid conditions in this area, these animals were mummified.
According to Dr. Jane Wheeler, these alpacas have a uniformity of fiber fineness and could represent pure, unhybridized domestic breeds. DNA analysis of the El Yaral mummies is shedding light on the genetic diversity of native Andean breeds prior to European conquest. Dr. Wheeler's research has lead her to conclude that the early Andean people selectively bred their herds to supply the exact needs of an ancient textile industry. The Incas that followed were, according to Dr. Wheeler, just as skilled as the early herders of ancient El Yaral. The Incans were known to raise pure white, black, and brown alpacas.
How did these wonderful animals end up here in our pastures? Many look at 1983 as the year that alpacas were imported in any number in to the United States. Many do not know that an earlier attempt to introduce alpacas into the United States in 1821 was a failure. In 1857 a group of llamas and alpacas were shipped to Baltimore, Maryland, but again attempts to acclimatize the animals were unsuccessful. According to Chamber's Encyclopedia, there were about 200-300 alpacas in Britain in 1872. Credit for the successful importation of alpacas to Britain is attributed to a Mr. Titus Salt of Bradford, Yorkshire, England.
When we consider the history of the alpaca, we have to conclude that the North American Alpaca is very young indeed. However, alpacas in the United states continue to increase in numbers and the quality of the stock is improving as American breeders employ careful selective breeding.
References:
1. Secrets of the Alpaca Mummies by Heather Pringle DISCOVER Vol. 22 No. 4 (April 2001)
2. Chamber's Encyclopedia, Printed in 1872.
3. Incan Indians, web page found at www.crystalinks.com/incan.html.
4. Short Alpaca History from Bozedown Alpacas found at www.bozedown.dircon.co.uk/NewFiles/alpacahistory.html.
5. Genetic Analysis and the Domestication of the New World Camelids. Article by Miranda Kadwell, Matilde Fernandex, Helen F. Stanley, Ricardo Baldi, Jane C. Wheeler, et. al. found at www.bozedown.dircon.co.uk/NewFiles/DNA%20article4.html.
6. The History of Ancient Livestock, found at the Alpaca Association of New Zealand web site, at www.alpaca.org.nz/alpaca-history.htm.
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