Research Report: The Rock of the Dead: new “Latin” or “Iberian-Guanche” Inscriptions found in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

Arnaiz‐Villena, Antonio; López‐Nares, Adrián; Ruíz-del-Valle, Valentín; Juárez, Ignacio; Bello, Adebayo J.; Callado, Álvaro; González, Juan Carlos; H-Sevilla, Alejandro; Romero, Gustavo Sánchez

doi:10.4314/ijma.v2i12.10

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The simple hypothesis of transcription and translation through Basque sound and meaning (phonetic and semantics) on islands as distant as La Palma and Lanzarote/Fuerteventura (Fig. 6) or Tenerife (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2019b;2019c) seems to confirm that our methodology is correct.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…It indicates, like in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura Islands(Pichler 1995;2003), that they are manifestations of Canarian aborigines. The other islands, including Tenerife(Arnaiz-Villena et al 2019c) have yet to be studied in depth in terms of Ibero-Guanche scriptures.6) Theories of non-navigation between Islands are not credible because of presentand others findings at the Canary Islands (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2019b).Origin of Iberian inscriptionsTherefore, Iberian rock inscriptions are found far from the Iberian Peninsula and France, at Canary Islands; some of them seem to have been performed in an older time than the Libyc-Berber inscriptions of North Africa and the Canary Islands, since the Iberian inscriptions that we have called Iberian-Guanches (and others call Latin-Canarian) are often found on the rocks together with the Libyc-Berber inscriptions and these ones have sometimes been written on top of the Iberian inscriptions. Also, some Atlantic megalithic La Palma spirals and other drawings are written on Iberian-Guanche inscriptions, which may be older or contemporary at least (Pais-Pais 2019; Arnaiz-Villena, personal observation) The Iberian-Guanche inscriptions were most likely made by native Canarians (Guanches), since in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura there is a great density of these inscriptions.…”

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The Iberian-Guanche rock inscriptions at La Palma Is.: all seven Canary Islands (Spain) harbour these scripts

et al. 2020

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Rock Iberian-Guanche inscriptions have been found in all Canary Islands including La Palma: they consist of incise (with few exceptions) lineal scripts which have been done by using the Iberian semi-syllabary that was used in Iberia and France during the 1st millennium BC until few centuries AD .This confirms First Canarian Inhabitants navigation among Islands. In this paper we analyze three of these rock inscriptions found in westernmost La Palma Island: hypotheses of transcription and translation show that they are short funerary and religious text, like of those found widespread through easternmost Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and also Tenerife Islands. They frequently name “Aka” (dead), “Ama” (mother godness) and “Bake” (peace), and methodology is mostly based in phonology and semantics similarities between Basque language and prehistoric Iberian-Tartessian semi-syllabary transcriptions. These Iberian-Guanche scripts are widespread in La Palma usually together with spiral and circular typical Atlantic motifs which are similar to these of Megalithic British Isles, Brittany (France) and Western Iberia. Sometimes linear incise Iberian-Guanche inscriptions are above the circular ones (more recent) but they are also found underneath (less recent). The idea that this prehistoric Iberian semi-syllabary was originated in Africa and/or Canary Islands is not discarded. It is discussed in the frame of Saharian people migration to Mediterranean, Atlantic (i.e.: Canary Islands) and other areas, when hyperarid climate rapidly established. On the other hand, an Atlantic gene and possibly linguistic and cultural pool is shared among people from British Isles, Brittany (France), Iberia (Spain, Portugal), North Africa and Canary Islands. Keywords: La Palma, Iberian-Guanche, Latin, Inscriptions, Iberian, Celts, Sahara, Africa, Garafia, Santo Domingo, Canary Islands, Lybic British, Brittons, Basque, Irish, Lybic Canarian, Palmeses, Benahoaritas, Awaritas, Tricias, Prehistory, Guache, Tartessian.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

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The Iberian-Guanche rock inscriptions at La Palma Is.: all seven Canary Islands (Spain) harbour these scripts

et al. 2020

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“…Fig. 4from a Lanzarote rock script and another script from Tenerife(Arnaiz-Villena et al 2019b). Writing support seems to have been hard stones in Canary Islands with engraving difficulties.7.Lack of some Iberian characters in the obtained inscriptions (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

“Latín” rock scripts in Canary Islands are ancient Iberian inscriptions (Iberian-Guanche) A story of forgotten genetics, scripts, pyramids and other prehistoric artifacts

Arnaiz‐Villena¹,

López‐Nares²,

Juárez³

et al. 2019

Int.J.Mod.Anthrop

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Latin" rock scripts were discovered 30 years ago in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura Islands (Canary Islands). However, they are an incised linear writing which lacks Q, H, P and T frequent Latin letters and translation into Latin has not been possible. A transcription and a translation hypothesis was proposed long ago because scripts were almost identical to those of the Iberian semi-syllabary which was used in Iberia and France during first millennium BC; "Latin" scripts were named "Iberian-Guanche" and were mostly religious and funerary. This type of lineal incise writing is present in all seven Canary Islands and they may have been unnoticed because all other islands except Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are humid and covered by vegetation. This type of linear writings are, like Iberian, similar to Runes (Atlantic and Central Europe),Old Italian scripts (Raetian, Venetic, Lepontic, Etruscan) and Sitovo and Gradeshnistsa scripts (Bulgaria, 5 th millennium BC). Language behind Iberian-Guanche scripts might be related to both Berber and Old Basque languages. People who wrote "Iberian-Guanche" inscriptions seem to be Canary Island inhabitants and not visitors. Genes (people) of present and past Canary Islanders are difficult only to assign to North Africa because gene flow between North Africa and Iberia existed in prehistoric times and it is difficult to distinguish Iberian and North African with Canarian gene profiles. Genetics by itself is not sufficient for relating people or specific for geography, this is firmly demonstrated for mitochondrial genes. Linguistics, Culture, and Archaeology are necessary to interpret population genetics data. Extant pyramids in North Africa, Western Sahara and possibly Tenerife, existence of prehistoric artifacts and rock calendars ("Quesera"/Cheeseborad lunisolar calendar at Lanzarote and others at Gran Canaria Island) and presence of Cart-Ruts on Lanzarote volcano tops, may indicate an older date for Canarian prehistory than that of Punic/Roman presence. Finally Canarian prehistoric findings have been long neglected and forgotten but a common Iberian-Guanche rock writing culture existed in Canary Islands.

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“…In addition, a big rock carved lunisolar calendar has been found in Lanzarote, (Canary Islands): "La Quesera"/Cheeseboard of Zonzamas (Medina & Arnaiz-Villena 2018a;2018b;Arnaiz-Villena et al 2018). Prehistoric Atlantic petroglyphs, mummifications, pyramids and possible megalithic buildings have been found (Medina & Arnaiz-Villena 2018a;2018b;Arnaiz-Villena et al 2018;2019a), particularly this lunisolar calendar "Cheeseboard" of Zonzamas in Lanzarote Island and also Cart-ruts rock carved channel structures on the top of volcanoes (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2019b). Also, other most likely pre-Punic and pre-Roman prehistoric rock calendars have been found in Gran Canaria Island (Barrios Garcia 2004;Barrios Garcia et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Genetic differences between western Mediterraneans and North West Africans are scanty (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2015Hajjej et al 2018) because prehistoric Atlantic Europe, North African and Canary Islands belong to a related cultural and genetic group (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2017). Also, Canarian prehistory should in part be interpreted in the context of Megalithic Atlantic culture (Arnaiz-Villena et al 2015;2019a;2019b;Medina & Arnaiz-Villena 2018a;2018b). In addition, a big rock carved lunisolar calendar has been found in Lanzarote, (Canary Islands): "La Quesera"/Cheeseboard of Zonzamas (Medina & Arnaiz-Villena 2018a;2018b;Arnaiz-Villena et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iberian inscriptions in Sahara Desert rocks (Ti-m Missaou, Ahaggar Mts. area, Algeria): first evidence of incise Iberian rock scripts in continental North Africa

Arnaiz-Villena¹,

Ruíz-del-Valle²,

López‐Nares³

et al. 2021

Int.J.Mod.Anthrop

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In the present paper, we show Iberian or Iberian-Guanche scripts found in the Middle of Sahara Desert, Ti-m Missaou (Tim Missao, Tim Missaw), 270 km SouthWest of Tamanrasset on Ahaggar or Hoggar Mountains (Mts.) area (Algeria). More Iberian scripts may be earthed beneath Sahara Desert sands or have been neglected by observers. We also put forward that Iberian semi-syllabary may have its origin in the Neolithic Saharo-Canarian Circle, the same as other Mediterranean, Atlantic and European lineal scripts (apart from Berber/Tuareg) like Etruscan, Runes, Old Italian languages, Minoan Lineal A, Sitovo and Gradeshnitsa (Bulgaria) writings (6,000 yearsBC) and others. In fact, Strabo wrote that Iberians had written language before since 6,000 BC. On the other hand, Sahara Desert was green and populated since before 5,000 years BC and we had proposed that most of Mediterranean culture, languages and writing, had a Saharan origin. Ti-m Missaou Sahara Iberian inscriptions, together with our previous and others researches on Canary Islands, further support this proposal, i.e.: rock scripts, Gimbutas-like Paleolithic figurines and unusual artifacts, like a lunisolar Egyptian-like calendar (“Cheeseboard/Quesera” at Lanzarote) carved in a Megalithic stone, do no support that Phoenicians and Romans carried Canarian ancient Guanche culture. Finally, a continuous lineal writing systems developing seems to have occurred during Paleolithic and Neolithic Epochs, which also harbor the related incise Lineal Megalithic Scripts that could have given rise to Iberian development and other lineal African, European and Mediterranean lineal language scripts. Our present new data is interpreted in the context of the Sahara people migration which occurred when hyperarid conditions started establishing about 6,000 years BC. Keywords: Iberian, Iberian-Guanche, Scripts, Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Prehistory, Saharo-Canarian Circle, Genetics, Megaliths, Iberia, Sahara, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Lineal Scripts, Neolithic, Tamanrasset, Hoggar, Ahaggar, Usko-Mediterranean,Etruscan, Tuareg, Berber, Lineal A.

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Research Report: The Rock of the Dead: new “Latin” or “Iberian-Guanche” Inscriptions found in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

Cited by 6 publications

References 9 publications

The Iberian-Guanche rock inscriptions at La Palma Is.: all seven Canary Islands (Spain) harbour these scripts

The Iberian-Guanche rock inscriptions at La Palma Is.: all seven Canary Islands (Spain) harbour these scripts

“Latín” rock scripts in Canary Islands are ancient Iberian inscriptions (Iberian-Guanche) A story of forgotten genetics, scripts, pyramids and other prehistoric artifacts

Iberian inscriptions in Sahara Desert rocks (Ti-m Missaou, Ahaggar Mts. area, Algeria): first evidence of incise Iberian rock scripts in continental North Africa

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