In the Inca empire, llamas were the only beasts of burden, and many of the peoples dominated by
the Inca had long traditions of llama herding. For the Inca nobility, the llama was of symbolic significance,
and llama figures were often buried with the dead. In South America, llamas are still used as beasts of burden,
as well as for the production of fiber and meat.
The Inca deity Urcuchillay was depicted in the form of a multicolored llama.
Scholar Alex Chepstow-Lusty has argued that the switch from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to widespread agriculture
was only possible because of the use of llama dung as fertilizer.
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