allpaqa
alpaca
English from Quechua/Aymara
“The Andean camelid with the softest fiber in the Americas — prized by the Inca, and now by luxury fashion.”
Alpaca likely comes from Quechua allpaqa or Aymara allpaca. The alpaca was domesticated in the Andes ~6,000 years ago, bred specifically for its fiber — softer, warmer, and lighter than sheep's wool.
Inca royalty wore clothing made from vicuña and alpaca fiber. Common people wore llama wool. Fiber quality was a marker of social class — the softness of your clothing told your rank.
Spanish colonizers initially ignored alpacas in favor of sheep. The superiority of alpaca fiber was 'rediscovered' by European textile industries in the 19th century, when Sir Titus Salt built a fortune on alpaca wool.
Today alpaca fiber is a luxury material. Peru has 3.7 million alpacas — 80% of the world's population. The word and the fiber connect modern fashion to 6,000 years of Andean breeding.
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Today
Alpacas have become farm favorites worldwide — their gentle temperament and luxurious fiber make them both livestock and pets.
The Quechua word names an animal that represents 6,000 years of selective breeding — one of humanity's longest ongoing biotechnology projects.
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