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Domestication of South American Camelids

South American Camelids were the only large herd animals domesticated in South America. There are four existing species of South American camelid, classified in two genera, Lama and Vicugna. Of these four, two are wild, the guanaco and the vicuña, and two are the corresponding domesticated species the llama and the alpaca. Generally, the domestic species are slightly larger than their wild forebears. The adult alpaca typically weighs between 55-65kg compared to the wild vicuña, which weighs between 35-50Kg, while the llama, the largest South American camelid, weighs between 80 and 150Kg, slightly larger than the wild guanaco (80-130Kg).

While their domestication is attested by the early Holocene, the range and corresponding time periods of camelids domestication remains a matter of ongoing scientific enquiry. Nonetheless, domestication was an important driver of South American social, and political development. Widely used as pack animals, as well as for their meat, dung, and hides, domesticated Camelids were an important part of the economies of early South American societies, dating back to at least 5000 years BP.