The llama (Lama glama) and the alpaca (Vicugna pacos) are important domesticated species, endemic to South America. South American camelids helped ensure the success of humans in the Andes, much like the horse in Europe. Two wild South American camelids, the guanaco and the vicuña have been proposed as the ancestors of these domestic forms. Some scientists have hypothesized that crossbreeding started after the Spanish conquest in the 1500's, since before this event, indigenous people are thought to have kept both domestic breeding lines separate. In an effort to avoid the confounding effects of crossbreeding, ancient DNA from pre-conquest South American camelids was analysed from sites in Bolivia and Ecuador. Our mitochondrial pre-conquest results for Cerro Narrío in Ecuador show that all ancient samples which do not naturally occur in this region and were likely domesticated camelids, had maternal guanaco ancestry. At the Bolivian site of Iwawi, near Lake Titicaca, matrilineal ancestry from both wild species contributed to the domestic forms. These results help disentangle the complex ancestry of the domestic South American camelids and inform future breeding strategies. Additionally confirm the occurrence of crossbreeding between camelids pre-Spanish conquest.

美洲驼 ( Lama glama ) 和羊驼 ( Vicugna pacos) 是重要的驯化物种，是南美洲特有的。南美骆驼有助于确保人类在安第斯山脉的成功，就像欧洲的马一样。两种野生南美骆驼，原驼和骆马已被认为是这些家养形式的祖先。一些科学家假设杂交是在 1500 年代西班牙征服之后开始的，因为在此事件之前，土著人被认为将两个国内繁殖系分开。为了避免杂交的混杂影响，从玻利维亚和厄瓜多尔的地点分析了征服前南美骆驼的古代 DNA。我们对厄瓜多尔 Cerro Narrío 的线粒体征服前结果表明，所有并非自然出现在该地区并且可能是驯化骆驼的古代样本，有母系原驼血统。在的的喀喀湖附近的玻利维亚伊瓦维遗址，两种野生物种的母系血统促成了家养形式。这些结果有助于解开南美家养骆驼的复杂血统，并为未来的育种策略提供信息。另外确认在西班牙征服之前骆驼之间发生了杂交。