About Alpacas
A Brief History of Alpacas
Alpacas have coexisted with humankind for thousands of
years. The Incan civilization of the Andes Mountains in Peru elevated
the alpaca to a central place in their society. The imperial Incas
clothed themselves in garments made from alpaca and many of their
religious ceremonies involved the animal. Museums throughout the
Americas display textiles made from alpaca fiber.
The Spanish conquistadors failed to see the value of
alpaca fiber, preferring the merino sheep of their native Spain. For a
time, alpaca fiber was a well-kept secret. In the middle 1800's, Sir
Titus Salt of Saltaire, England rediscovered alpaca. The newly
industrialized English textile industry was at its zenith when Sir Titus
began studying the unique properties of alpaca fleece. He discovered,
for instance, that alpaca fiber was stronger than sheep's wool and
that its strength did not diminish with fineness of staple. The alpaca
textiles he fashioned from the raw fleece were soft, lustrous, and they
soon began making their mark across Europe. Today, the center of the
alpaca textile industry is in Arequipa, Peru; yarn and other products
made from alpaca are sold primarily in Japan and Europe.
Outside of their native South America, the number of
alpacas found in other countries is extremely limited. In fact, 99
percent of the world's approximately three million alpacas are found in
Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
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