Artefactos e instrumentos de piedra en un espacio de almacenamiento colectivo. El caso de El Cenobio de Valerón (Gran Canaria, España) Lithic implements in a communal granary. The example of Cenobio de Valerón (Gran Canaria, Spain) RESUMEN Los graneros comunales constituyen una peculiaridad del registro arqueológico preeuropeo de Gran Canaria, aunque sean más conocidos en el Norte de África. El Cenobio de Valerón presenta singularidades que lo sitúan como uno de los monumentos más espectaculares de la isla, sobre todo por su envergadura y la variedad de interpretaciones que se le han dado. A pesar de los expolios sufridos durante más de 300 años, todavía se conservan elementos que aportan información sobre la naturaleza de las materias almacenadas, la configuración de los espacios o las actividades allí desarrolladas. Aquí se presenta, el conjunto de artefactos líticos, vinculados con el procesado de materias vegetales o el acondicionamiento de los silos. Su estudio morfotécnico y funcional, es el primero realizado en un contexto de almacenamiento, lo que permitirá comprender mejor las funciones de estos recintos en las relaciones sociales de producción de los antiguos canarios. LABURPENA Bihitegi komunalak Kanaria Handietako erregistro arkeologiko aurreeuroparraren berezitasuna dira, Afrika iparraldean ezagunagoak izan arren. Valeróngo zenobioak berezitasun handiak ditu; hori dela eta, uharteko monumentu ikusgarrienetako bat da, batez ere duen neurriagatik eta eman zaizkion interpretazio ugariengatik. 300 urte baino gehiagoz espoliazioak jasan arren, oraindik ere gordetako materien izaerari, espazioen konfigurazioari edo han garatutako jarduerei buruzko informazioa ematen duten elementuak gordetzen ditu. Hemen aurkezten da landare-materien prozesatzearekin eta siloen egokitzapenarekin lotutako gailu litikoen multzoa. Haien azterketa morfotekniko eta funtzionala da biltegiratze arloan egindako lehenengoa, eta horrek ahalbidetuko du garai bateko kanariarren ekoizpeneko harreman sozialetan esparru horiek zituzten funtzioak hobeto ulertzea.

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Abstract:Querns for grinding cereals were essential in the everyday life of the Pre-European population of the Island of Gran Canaria as their agriculture was based mainly on barley and wheat, cereals processed for the most part in the form of roasted flour. Rotary querns and other grinding stones, nonetheless, have rarely been the object of research in the Canary Islands and the study of their operational sequence of production has only recently been initiated. Volcanic tuff (compact lapilli) was the most commonly quarried rock. Other raw materials such as basalt, and to a lesser extension tephrite, were also worked. Since metal tools were not known in the Canary Islands in Pre-European contexts, all of the stages of extraction and fashioning had to be carried out with stone tools. This paper analyses the operational sequence, that is, the different phases of the extraction and fashioning techniques of basalt rotary querns based on the recent finds of two quarries located near the coast (Cardones and Cebolla) and a quern manufacturing workshop (Cave 36, Arucas Municipality) in a ravine about 600 m inland. Traditionally it was thought that the Pre-European population of Gran Canaria fashioned their querns from naturally detached volcanic surface blocks collected in ravines or along the coast. This supposition was based on the idea that the early Canarians were not capable of extracting blocks from bedrock with stone tools. This notion, however, has been proven wrong by the circular extraction negatives on the quarry faces and by finds of stone fashioning tools in the workshop.

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This paper identifies the operational sequence of volcanic tuff rotary quern production on the Island of Gran Canaria. This is carried out by analysing the tool marks on the face of the La Calera (Agaete) quarry and the abandoned quern roughouts. Stone implements served in all of the stages of quern manufacture as metal tools were unknown in Pre-European Gran Canaria.