Dating prehispanic and colonial sites on the island of Gran Canaria: a proposal for a radiocarbon hygiene protocol

Gordó, Salvador Pardo; Marrero, María del Cristo González; Vidal-Matutano, Paloma; Rodríguez, Amelia Rodríguez

doi:10.25145/j.tabona.2022.22.22

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Synthetic studies of the kind recently accomplished there by Alberto Barroso et al (2021Barroso et al ( , 2022b should be extended to the other islands, reinforced by new field research where appropriate and by an emphasis on building sound chronologies (cf. Pardo-Gordó et al 2022). Inter-island comparisons of subsistence strategies, ecological change, and diet already exist (e.g., Arnay de la de Nascimento et al 2020;Morales et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The past 30 years have seen a further intensification in the scale and frequency of archaeological research, sometimes ahead of infrastructural developments such as road construction (e.g., Mederos Martín and Escribano Cobo 2008). Research has been increasingly enriched by the deployment of state-of-the-art scientific techniques, notably stable isotope analysis (e.g., Sánchez-Cañadillas et al 2021), DNA analyses of human remains and living populations (e.g., Fregel et al 2019), and more sophisticated modeling of a growing body of radiocarbon dates to which appropriate chronometric hygiene protocols are applied (e.g., Pardo-Gordó et al 2022;Velasco Vásquez et al 2020). Detailed studies of plant remains and archaeozoological evidence have also taken place, along with investigations of the Canary Islands' rich bioanthropological record (e.g., Castellano-Alonso et al 2018;Morales et al 2017;Owens 2007).…”

Section: Archaeological Research In the Canary Islands: History And C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeological Research in the Canary Islands: Island Archaeology off Africa’s Atlantic Coast

Mitchell

2023

J Archaeol Res

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Island archaeology is a well-established field within the wider discipline, but African contributions to it remain scarce. The Canary Islands are unusual in the broader African context for their relatively long history of occupation (~2000 years) and the intensity with which archaeological research has been, and is, undertaken there. Much of that research, however, has focused on specifically Canarian issues, including efforts to demonstrate connections between the islands’ initial settlement and the Classical Mediterranean world. Relatively little of it has been conducted within the broader comparative framework that an island archaeology perspective provides. Additionally, much of the Canarian literature is not directly accessible to non-Hispanophones. In response, I synthesize what is currently known about the archaeology of the Canary Islands, focusing on determining when, how, and by whom they were first settled; the impacts of human settlement on their environments; inter-island variability in precolonial subsistence, social, and political trajectories; and the record left by European contact and subsequent colonization, which began in the 14th century AD. As well as pointing to further opportunities for research within the archipelago, I simultaneously map out several areas where archaeological work there could contribute to wider debates in island archaeology as a whole.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Research In the Canary Islands: History And C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological Research in the Canary Islands: Island Archaeology off Africa’s Atlantic Coast

Mitchell

2023

J Archaeol Res

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Use-Wear Analysis of Obsidian and Other Volcanic Rocks: An Experimental Approach to Working Plant Resources

Brito-Abrante,

Rodríguez-Rodríguez

2024

J Archaeol Method Theory

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This experimental study aims to contribute to functional analysis research on tools which specifically served to work wood and non-woody plants. They were made of obsidian and other volcanic rocks (basalt, trachyte, and phonolite) characterised by an amorphous matrix and phenocrysts of different number and size. In spite of prior functional analysis research resorting to these raw materials, there remain gaps in our understanding of specific activities. The work thus focused on working different types of wood from the Canary Island as well as on harvesting cereals. It is likewise centred on craftwork, especially regarding certain rarely studied contact materials such as palm leaves and rushes. The results reveal use-wear differences stemming from working woody and non-woody plants with both obsidian and other volcanic rocks. A special attention was given to the identification and description of the different features depending on the raw materials and the characteristics of their knapped surfaces. Identifying the combination of attributes has been essential to attain more accurate diagnostics. There are limits to each of the types of raw materials. The surfaces of obsidian are easier to observe and allow more specific identifications. In turn, the heterogeneous surfaces of volcanic rocks with phenocrysts that require more to time to develop diagnostic traces render use-wear amongst these types of rocks more difficult to observe. It is possible to distinguish longitudinal and transversal actions between woody and non-woody plants on every rock. Actions related to basketry, such us splitting and scraping, are more complicated to identify. The state of the worked plant (dry or fresh) and the time of use are key factors to consider in each case.

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The chronology of the human colonization of the Canary Islands

Santana,

del Pino,

Morales

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The human colonization of the Canary Islands represents the sole known expansion of Berber communities into the Atlantic Ocean and is an example of marine dispersal carried out by an African population. While this island colonization shows similarities to the populating of other islands across the world, several questions still need to be answered before this case can be included in wider debates regarding patterns of initial colonization and human settlement, human–environment interactions, and the emergence of island identities. Specifically, the chronology of the first human settlement of the Canary Islands remains disputed due to differing estimates of the timing of its first colonization. This absence of a consensus has resulted in divergent hypotheses regarding the motivations that led early settlers to migrate to the islands, e.g., ecological or demographic. Distinct motivations would imply differences in the strategies and dynamics of colonization; thus, identifying them is crucial to understanding how these populations developed in such environments. In response, the current study assembles a comprehensive dataset of the most reliable radiocarbon dates, which were used for building Bayesian models of colonization. The findings suggest that i) the Romans most likely discovered the islands around the 1st century BCE; ii) Berber groups from western North Africa first set foot on one of the islands closest to the African mainland sometime between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE; iii) Roman and Berber societies did not live simultaneously in the Canary Islands; and iv) the Berber people rapidly spread throughout the archipelago.

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Dating prehispanic and colonial sites on the island of Gran Canaria: a proposal for a radiocarbon hygiene protocol

Cited by 3 publications

References 42 publications

Archaeological Research in the Canary Islands: Island Archaeology off Africa’s Atlantic Coast

Archaeological Research in the Canary Islands: Island Archaeology off Africa’s Atlantic Coast

Use-Wear Analysis of Obsidian and Other Volcanic Rocks: An Experimental Approach to Working Plant Resources

The chronology of the human colonization of the Canary Islands

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