Editing Inca Empire (section)

=== Animal husbandry ===
{{Main|Inca animal husbandry}}
[[File:Lama3.jpg|thumb|Camelids were a vital resource in Tahuantinsuyo. The Inca state ensured a supply of both meat and fiber from these animals.]]

In pre-Hispanic [[Andes]], [[Camelidae|camelids]] played a crucial role in the economy. The domesticated species, [[llama]] and [[Vicugna pacos|alpaca]], were raised in large herds and used for various purposes within the Inca production system.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marín |first=Juan |title=Sistemática, taxonomía y domesticación de alpacas y llamas: nueva evidencia cromosómica y molecular |journal=Revista Chilena de Historia Natural |date=2007 |volume=80 |pages=121–140 |language=es |issue=2 |doi=10.4067/S0716-078X2007000200001 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Additionally, two wild camelid species, [[Vicugna vicugna|vicuña]] and [[Lama guanicoe|guanaco]], were also utilized. Vicuñas were hunted through collective drives (chacos), sheared with tools like stones, knives, and metal axes, and then released to maintain their population. Guanacos were hunted for their highly valued meat. Chronicles indicate that all camelid meat was consumed, but due to restrictions on slaughter, its consumption was likely considered a luxury. Fresh meat was probably accessible mainly to the military or during ceremonial occasions involving widespread distribution of sacrificed animals. During the colonial period, pastures diminished or degraded due to the massive presence of introduced Spanish animals and their feeding habits, significantly altering the Andean environment.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rostworowski |first=María |url=http://incas.perucultural.org.pe/hisasp4a.htm |title=Historia del Tahuantinsuyo |publisher=Instituto de Estudios Peruanos |date=1995 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202133506/http://incas.perucultural.org.pe/hisasp4a.htm |archive-date=2 February 2009}}</ref>