South American camelids in Central Andean religious practices

Abstract

This paper focuses on using ethno-historic and ethnographic sources in order to determine if these works are able to assist with interpreting what is found archaeologically. It looks at the uses of South American camelids in ritual contexts by examining ethno-historic documents from the sixteenth century as well as more recent ethnographic works and comparing them to what has been found archaeologically. Through this we will hopefully be able to gain a better understanding of whether these data can be used to interpret archaeological finds or if too much has changed in the region since Spanish colonization as a result of the introduction of Christianity, European influences, and globalization.