{"id":902,"date":"2026-10-22T21:02:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T01:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pukara.org\/?page_id=902"},"modified":"2026-10-24T13:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:49:10","slug":"pastoralists-of-the-andean-puna","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pukara.org\/?page_id=902","title":{"rendered":"Pastoralists of the High Andes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Andean populations have been hunting and herding camelids for millennia and they continue to be central to highland life ways today. What is a camelid<\/em> (or cam\u00e9lido<\/em> in Spanish)? In the Andean context, this includes domesticated llamas <\/strong>and alpacas<\/strong> and their wild relatives, the guanaco<\/strong> and vicu\u00f1a<\/strong>. While many are familiar with llamas, which primarily were domesticated as pack animals, and alpacas, which were selected for their incredibly fine fiber, vicu\u00f1a and guanaco and not well-known outside of the Andes. In this section, which is “under construction<\/em>,” you will find information about Andean camelids and highland herding communities from archaeology, cultural anthropology, animal sciences\/genetics, and a diversity of other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The four camelids:<\/strong> taxonomy, subspecies, breeds, and original distribution. Salka and Uywa are the Quechua names for wild and domestic, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The domestication of South American Camelids: A Review” (Yacobaccio 2021<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Natural & Cultural Resources of the High Andes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Camelids can be found in many regions of the Andes, with a concentration at higher elevations. In fact, many herding communities live above<\/em> the limit of agriculture (too cold for even potatoes or quinoa!) and move their llamas and alpacas seasonally to rich grazing areas. A very important feature of these high elevation areas are bofedales<\/strong><\/em>, which are high-elevation peat wetlands that are fed by glacial run-off and host a diversity of plant communities eaten by camelids. While bofedales appear to be a “natural” feature at first glance, highland herders (and perhaps the early hunters in the region) have been modifying these areas for millennia to increase water flow and other important features. Today they are under threat from climate change, overgrazing, and contamination, which risks the very livelihood of pastoralist communities living in these regions. Here are some resources (more to come!) about camelids, bofedales and Andean herders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camelids of the Andes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n