Alpacas have flourished in South America for several thousand years. They have been domesticated for over 6,000 years and are among the oldest domesticated animals in the world. They belong to the camel family Camelidae. Camelid ancestors evolved in North America 40 million years ago and migrated to South America across a Caribbean land bridge where they gradually evolved into the four species commonly known there today: llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna.

Llamas and alpacas served as the means for survival for early Andean highlanders. Llamas were beasts of burden, and alpacas produced fiber for cloth. Both animals were used for meat. The puna, where these animals were domesticated, is a cold harsh environment about 14,000 feet above sea level. Farming was impossible, so an exchange was made between the products derived from the alpacas for necessary food from fertile plains.

The pukara culture of 2500 years ago in the Lake Titicaca seems to have been the first to begin breeding alpacas specifically to produce uniform quality of fiber. These selective breeding practices probably began with wild camelids. The Incans thought so highly of their aplacas that they had a special class of herders for them. The domestication and movement of goods from these animals helped to create the Incan empire which flourished until the Spanish conquered it.

The Spanish took the best pasture for their cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs, forcing the Incan llama and alpaca herds into the highlands known as the Antiplano. There, because of their remarkable ability to adapt, these animals survived that harsh environment. It was not until the mid-1800s that alpaca fiber was rediscovered. An English wool importer noticed some in his shipment of sheep’s wool from Peru. This marked the renewal of alpaca fiber as a fine textile product. For the next 100 years the British mills were the main importers of the alpaca fleece productuction until it was discovered and taken over by multinational corporations.