History of the Alpaca
| HISTORY OF THE ALPACA Alpacas have been a domesticated animal for thousands of years. Alpacas played a significant role in the Incan civilization . The Incans considered alpaca as valuable as gold and the imperial Incas clothed themselves in alpaca garments to show high class. In the 1700's the Spanish conquistadors came and conquered the Inca's land. The Spanish conquistador did not see the value in the alpacas and killed off a majority of the alpaca population to make room for their sheep and other livestock. | |
| With the handful of
alpacas left and the Incas being forced
off their land, they decided to move high up in the Andes mountains
where the alpaca adapted to cold and extreme weather. There the
alpaca fiber was a well- kept secret, at least until the middle of
the 1800's, when Sir Titus Salt of Saltaire, England learned the
unique value of the alpaca fleece. The alpaca textile he had fashioned soon began making a mark across Europe. Today, a major part of the alpaca industry is located in Arequipa, Peru , with yarn and other alpaca being mainly sold in Europe and Japan |
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