Camelids in ancient Andean societies : a review of the zooarchaeological evidence

Abstract

South American Camelids (SAC) have occupied a central role in the development of Andean societies, both for ancient huntergatherers and for more recent pastoralists and farmers. In prehispanic times they were widely distributed, but their number decreased dramatically as a consequence of the portmanteau biota introduced by the Europeans, among other reasons. Nonetheless, today, wild and domestic SAC remain a core element in rural communities all along the Andes. They have been exported all over the world, and their use has expanded amazingly due to globalization. In all the Americas, camelids are the only large herd mammals that were domesticated. Although researchers may accept that the origins of domestication and the development of native camelid herding are restricted to the Andes, there is still no agreement on its timing, or whether one or several centers of domestication existed. It is essential to inquire whether the identification of the Central Andes as the heartland of camelid domestication is an accurate characterization of this process, or an artifact of the pioneering zooarchaeological analyses undertaken there.