Aymara People

Pareja Aymara en el umbral del siglo XXI

The Aymaras are an ancient people of herders and farmers that use ancestral techniques.

They spread from the shores of the Titicaca Lake and the Andean Mountains to the northeast of Argentina. Their territory expands over the borders of several nations.

The Aymara economy depends on exchanges between producers from the higher and lower altitudes. In the Altiplano, people have abundant livestock but few plantations, while those living in the precordillera, produce plenty of vegetables, fruits and seeds, mainly due to their efficient system of traditional terraces.

Their geographical distribution stimulates an intensive trade between herdsmen and farmers.

Their economy is based on reciprocity, or ayne, that grants every Aymara the return of what is given.