Comment on the Functions and Husbandry of Alpaca

Abstract

This brief note points out two problems in the comment by Topic et al.: the assumption that alpaca were valued only for their wool, and the questionable application of ethnographic and Inkaic husbandry models in culturally and environmentally different settings. Important to resolving these and other problems is improvement of our ability to differentiate alpaca and llama from preserved and sampled osteological and fiber remains.