llamas are the only large mammal ever domesticated within the ancient americas, and the only non eurasian domesticable animal species in the world. like their evolutionary cousins the camel, llamas are intelligent and gregarious herbivores. but unlike the camel, they lack the strength to carry a human or pull a plough.
when aggravated, over burdened or otherwise annoyed, llamas tend to hiss, spit, kick, and will refuse to move, often lying down in protest. but their high tolerance for thirst, appetite for a broad range of plants, and ability to travel up to twenty miles a day made them key to native american transport and communication throughout the andes.
though domesticated by native americans more than 5,000 years ago, llamas, who are kept primarily for their wool and ability to fertilize the land, were never milked for human consumption. consequently, very few diseases have ever jumped species from llama to man, compared to the host of diseases which europeans inherited from living in close proximity to their livestock.
but geography ensured that the continent’s only load bearing mammal remained isolated, known only to the indigenous peoples of the andes. the inhospitable jungles of the panamanian isthmus and the deserts of south america kept llamas – and the inca – from ever reaching the aztecs, or beyond.
photos from peru’s machu picchu, built by the inca, courtesy gayathri vuppuluri, roger nelson, liza thornberry. frans lanting, richard olseneus and will burrard lucas. info from jared diamond’s guns, germs and steel.
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