ANTH 260 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Herding, Capon, Metacarpal Bones
1 Jun 2018
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Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Lecture Notes
Llamas, Alpacas, and Guinea Pigs
• Domestic Camelids
o Two genera- Lama and Vicugna (native to the South American Andes)
o Lama guanicoe (Guanaco) is the wild ancestor of Lama glama (the Llama).
o Vicugna vicugna (Vicuna) is the wild ancestor of Vicugna pacos (Alpaca)
o In general, camelids range in size from the Vicuna (35-50 kg.), Alpaca (56-65
kg.), Guanaco (80-130 kg.), and the Llama (80-150 kg.).
o Provide a mixture of primary and secondary products, from meat, hides, fiber
(fleece), and dung; in addition to fiber, they are very important as beasts of burden
and as ritual and ceremonial creatures.
• Alpacas
o The Alpaca is differentiated by its pointed ears and droopy tail. The Alpaca has
been historically used for its fleece (sometimes wild vicunas are caught and
sheared). There are two varieties, the huacaya and suri, each with different fleece
characteristics. In ancient Incan society, Alpacas were used to make the most
prestigious cloth.
• Llamas
o They are characterized by their banana shaped ears and raised tails. The llama is
the more generalized camelid, used historically for labor and meat, but also for
fleece. There are two types of Llama, the chaku and the ccara, with the chaku as
the better fleece breed. For the Inca, Llamas produced cloth, but were hugely
important as pack and ritual animals.
• Recognizing Domestication (how do you differentiate the bones of domestic from wild
camelids)
o Dental Morphologies- Guanaco and Llamas have spatulate shaped incisors
covered in enamel. Vicuna and Alpacas have parallel-sided incisors with enamel
restricted to certain parts.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
The alpaca has been historically used for its fleece (sometimes wild vicunas are caught and sheared). There are two varieties, the huacaya and suri, each with different fleece characteristics. In ancient incan society, alpacas were used to make the most prestigious cloth: llamas, they are characterized by their banana shaped ears and raised tails. The llama is the more generalized camelid, used historically for labor and meat, but also for fleece. There are two types of llama, the chaku and the ccara, with the chaku as the better fleece breed. The complication is that there is a wild and domestic version of each species. Guanacos are reddish-brown and white, while vicuna are light fawn and white. In comparison, domestic llamas and alpacas show a variety of colors (black, white, brown, and grey), with diverse patterns: today, wild camelids have a mixture of fine and coarse hair.
