Early Andeans’ camelids weren’t the ancestors of today’s llamas and alpacas.
Ancient DNA extracted from bones in Chile’s Atacama Desert reveals that people thousands of years ago in the region relied on camelids whose genetic lineages have since vanished, challenging our understanding of how these animals were first domesticated in the Andes. The animals provided food, fiber, and transport, but they weren’t the direct forebears of modern llamas and alpacas, researchers report December 16 in Nature Communications.
“What we found is that early Formative communities in the Tulán ravine primarily exploited wild or now-extinct early domesticated lineages, indicating that present-day domestic camelids are not direct descendants of those managed by early pastoralists,” the researchers write.
The study focuses on the Tulán ravine, a pivotal location for the transition from hunter-gatherer to herding lifestyles between approximately 5,000 and 3,000 years ago. Sites include ritual areas with ceremonial buildings and everyday settlements, all scattered with camelid remains from that era. As the only large mammals domesticated in the Americas, camelids were key to Andean life, offering meat, wool, and the muscle to haul goods across rugged landscapes.
Scientists examined DNA from 75 camelid bones, getting usable data from 49 to trace ancestries and sexes. Most dated to the Early Formative period, roughly 3,360 to 2,370 years ago, with one from an earlier time. Without harming the bones further, they used cutting-edge sequencing to compare the ancient genes to those of today’s camelids.
The results showed two main types: smaller ones akin to vicuñas and larger ones related to guanacos. But aside from one male with early llama-like traits, none aligned with the genetics of current domesticated breeds. These ancient camelids carried ancestries that went extinct, likely from local wild groups that people started managing, but which didn’t survive as the basis for today’s animals.
“The ancient Tulán individuals may represent a locally extinct L.g.cacsilensis population that hybridised with the local L.g.guanicoe individuals,” the researchers note.
Signs of crossbreeding between groups were minimal, unlike the mixing that surged after the Spanish arrival in the 1500s, which scrambled modern camelid DNA. Adult sex ratios were balanced — 32 males and 29 females — suggesting either hunting practices or early herding with targeted male culling.
The work paints a picture of domestication as a messy, regional process, where locals tamed nearby wild stocks that later disappeared, overtaken by other lineages. Bits of fiber from the sites hint at early trait selection, like unusual black wool among mostly brown, showing people were already experimenting.
