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Alpaca History

The Alpaca is a gentle, charming, and valuable member of the camelid (camel-id) family, which includes camels, llamas, vicunas, and guanacos. Originally, they were found only in the Altiplano (high plains) of Peru and Bolivia.

About 1200 AD the Inca were carving out an empire in the Andes amid a harsh environment. They used crude tools to cultivate the land. Terraces and irrigation systems as well as drainage systems were constructed. Stone storehouses were built to store food. The Incas cultivated such foods as corn, potatoes, and squash. They also domesticated llamas a beast of burden and kept alpacas for fine fleece. Garments made from alpaca fiber were reserved for royalty. Peasants caught wearing alpaca clothing were punished, sometimes even killed. With the Spanish conquest of the Incas in the 1600's, the alpaca herds were massacred almost to the point of annihilation. The remaining animals survived with the help of the Indian people and the alpacas' amazing ability to live under harsh conditions at high altitudes.

In the mid 1800's Sir Titus Salt, a woolen manufacturer from Bradford, England, discovered the wonderful qualities of alpaca fiber. Against his father's advice he accepted a consignment of "alpaca hair" and proceeded to spin and weave it into beautiful alpaca fabric and alpaca products. The result of his work gained prominence throughout England.

In 1984, the first alpacas were imported into the United States. At present time, there are only about 47,000 alpacas in this country, about 35,000 in Australia, and smaller numbers in Canada, England, New Zealand, France and Japan.

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