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The prehispanic population of Tenerife (Guanches) buried their dead in caves. Many corpses are totally or partially mummified. Embalming procedures are largely unknown, besides some information recorded by chroniclers and the general idea... more
The prehispanic population of Tenerife (Guanches) buried their dead in caves. Many corpses are totally or partially mummified. Embalming procedures are largely unknown, besides some information recorded by chroniclers and the general idea that environmental conditions in some areas may favour natural mummification. Detailed observation of burial caves containing mummified corpses revealed the presence of a white mineral in form of crusts or powder that was not present in the vast majority of non-burial caves, especially in basaltic and trachybasaltic lava flows. We analysed these crusts and they consist of natrium carbonate salts. Therefore, we conducted a search visiting 30 caves, 3 of them harbouring mummified corpses, and made analyses if there were natrium salts in these caves and their amount. One burial cave was located in trachyphonolitic lava flow, and two further caves in trachybasaltic and basaltic lava flows. There was a significant association between presence of natrium...
En el presente artículo nos respaldamos en técnicas de documentación y análisis digital para profundizar en la caracterización de la estación de grabados rupestres denominada como “Casa del Samarín” o “Tagoro del Rey”, situada en Los... more
En el presente artículo nos respaldamos en técnicas de documentación y análisis digital para profundizar en la caracterización de la estación de grabados rupestres denominada como “Casa del Samarín” o “Tagoro del Rey”, situada en Los Llanos de Ifara, Granadilla de Abona (Tenerife). En el enclave arqueológico, de adscripción guanche, se analizan 21 paneles con diversas tipologías de grabados. Se pueden distinguir los clasificados como geométricos-lineales, geométricos de tendencia oval y rectangular, así como los figurativos. Los bloques que conforman la estación de grabados pertenecen a un afloramiento rocoso de basalto, desde el cual se adosan otros bloques que se disponen formando un círculo. La planta que describe el conjunto de bloques se define como "cabaña" o estructura de superficie.
Las acciones antrópicas y una fuerte insolación, unido a la problemática intrínseca de las rocas basálticas, condicionan la conservación de este conjunto. Ante la amenaza que supone su deterioro paulatino, perseguimos asegurar su representación digital, inventariar sus grabados, monitorizar su estado de conservación y comprender los procesos de degradación que le afectan. Para ello nos valemos de la georreferenciación y el levantamiento fotogramétrico del sitio, así como de calcos digitales, para generar registros tridimensionales (3D) de precisión. Esta documentación geométrica se realiza con una secuenciación trimestral para observar la evolución de los cambios materiales. El registro patológico se realiza por medio de fichas de registro, encargadas de enumerar, describir y clasificar las lesiones observadas por escrito; también de mapas de daños 3D, que recogen su alcance y ubicación. Además, las propias texturas de los modelos 3D se someten a un procesamiento de imagen para destacar las características cromáticas; mientras que el análisis computacional de sus geometrías permite detectar la aparición de cambios formales a lo largo de las secuencias registradas. El protocolo llevado a cabo en cuanto a registro y documentación incidieron ya no sólo en el diagnóstico y análisis de esta estación de grabados, sino en la redefinición arqueológica del propio yacimiento.
Anthracological analyses from the highlands of Tenerife, known as Las Cañadas del Teide, are still very scarce and little is known about the diversity of human practices in this area. Thanks to accurate archaeological fieldwork at... more
Anthracological analyses from the highlands of Tenerife, known as Las Cañadas del Teide, are still very scarce
and little is known about the diversity of human practices in this area. Thanks to accurate archaeological
fieldwork at Chasogo, an indigenous site located at almost 2000ma.s.l., it has been possible to recover a large
amount of vitrified wood charcoal fragments and burnt faunal remains from a specific structure. Previous experimental
work aimed at increasing our understanding of the phenomenon of vitrification has not reached the
refractive rates observed in many charcoal assemblages from archaeological contexts such as Chasogo. Wood
charcoal analysis indicates the predominance of the Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) suggesting a closer
location of extensive pine forests during the pre-Hispanic period. The combination of spatial analyses of the
anthracological and faunal remains from the structure studied are presented here, contributing to the discussion
regarding the possible causes of vitrification and suggesting some working hypotheses for future analyses, i.e. a
prior biological degradation (the state of the wood used) and the combustion of high proportions of resin and/or
fresh bones (sudden changes in the combustion conditions). These results suggest that it is essential to integrate
the anthracological remains and their micromorphological signatures into the general archaeological discussion
in order to understand the nature and human use of this pre-Hispanic structure.
The prehispanic population of Tenerife (Guanches) buried their dead in caves. Many corpses are totally or partially mummified. Embalming procedures are largely unknown, besides some information recorded by chroniclers and the general idea... more
The prehispanic population of Tenerife (Guanches) buried their dead in caves. Many corpses are totally or partially mummified. Embalming procedures are largely unknown, besides some information recorded by chroniclers and the general idea that environmental conditions in some areas may favour natural mummification. Detailed observation of burial caves containing mummified corpses revealed the presence of a white mineral in form of crusts or powder that was not present in the vast majority of non-burial caves, especially in basaltic and trachybasaltic lava flows. We analysed these crusts and they consist of natrium carbonate salts. Therefore, we conducted a search visiting 30 caves, 3 of them harbouring mummified corpses, and made analyses if there were natrium salts in these caves and their amount. One burial cave was located in trachyphonolitic lava flow, and two further caves in trachybasaltic and basaltic lava flows. There was a significant association between presence of natrium salts and use of the cave as a burial site (χ 2 = 9.37; p = 0.0259). The semiquanti-tatively assessed amount of natrium salts was also by far higher in burial caves than in non-burial ones (Z = 2.58, p = 0.01). There are no reports that support the use of natrium salts in the embalming process among the Guanches, but we found a clear-cut relationship between the presence and/or amount of natrium salts in caves and their use as burial sites by the pre-hispanic population buried in the central highlands, suggesting an intentional use of caves containing this mineral as burial caves, based perhaps on the observation of the ability of natrium salts to preserve corpses.
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