Following reports from several residents in the municipalities of Arico and Adeje, situated in the southern region of Tenerife, and after conducting the necessary evaluations, the social archaeology group Imastanen has announced new damage to Guanche rock carvings. This is particularly due to scratches and graffiti, as well as a practice that has gained traction among some enthusiasts of Guanche culture: covering the sites with sizeable stones, believed to conceal them for protection. However, this seemingly protective approach results in the opposite effect, damaging the engravings themselves with the very rocks that are meant to hide them, leading to irreversible consequences.
Regarding the Arico engravings, this area is traversed by a “fairly busy” pathway. Consequently, they propose that, to ensure proper protection of this site, it be included in “an archaeological interpretation route” that would foster its safeguarding and visibility for educational purposes. They acknowledge that “similar initiatives have been successfully implemented on other islands” to enhance awareness and knowledge.
Moreover, they caution that illegal clay pigeon shooting is also prevalent in this area, with numerous remnants of plastic plates, cartridges, and other debris left by individuals who disregard the heritage value of the site. If the authorities responsible for safeguarding indigenous heritage—from the Arico council to the Cabildo and the regional government—adhered to the provisions of Law 11/2019 and implemented actions to ensure “the protection, study, and healthy dissemination of the Canarian indigenous material legacy, such instances could be prevented.”
The group expresses significant concern about the new approach taken by factions of archaeology enthusiasts who are “covering up sites with stones and cleaning them using brushes, or sometimes their hands or branches.” They warn that the surface patina of the stone, where remnants of Guanche rock engravings remain, is jeopardised by such actions, especially when water is applied to enhance visibility under sunlight, resulting in temperature fluctuations that create fragments in the already worn superficial stone layer affected by natural elements, lichens, roots, and plants. In their desire to do good, these individuals are inadvertently causing harm due to ignorance, largely stemming from the indifference displayed by the authorities responsible for their care and protection.
They have identified comparable incidents in Guía de Isora and Adeje, “to mention just a few recent examples. Large stones obscuring deposits, which when removed repeatedly to view the engravings, only to cover them again, induce abrasive damage, harming and deteriorating the surfaces that bear them. In the case of the site affected in Arico, these engravings were communicated by a member of the group to the technicians of the Cabildo’s Heritage department for cataloguing purposes some time ago, trusting that this initial step towards their recognition and future study would result in effective measures being taken to ensure their protection and oversight. However, none of this has occurred to date, which is typical on the island of Tenerife.”
Year in Review
The members of Imastanen lament that 2024 “has been a disastrous year regarding the indigenous material heritage in the Canary Islands, particularly on Tenerife, where acts of destruction and looting, as well as these harmful activities conducted by amateurs, compound the neglect from local administration and the precarious condition of the sites, which have historically endured disdain. This results in invaluable testimonies of the history of the Canary Islands continually disappearing, driven by the ignorance of both locals and visitors, but mainly due to the overriding commercial interests that, with the collaboration of various local governments, continue to ravage areas of immense natural, ethnographic, and archaeological significance.”
The organisation urges political leaders within the various municipalities “to finally recognise the importance of the Guanche heritage, which could also serve as an added attraction to the cultural offerings of each locality, not to mention the urgent need to appreciate these elements that should be cherished for their significant cultural and identity value, as well as for their profound scientific relevance. This is an opportunity to honour the ancestral legacy of the Canarian people, which they still refuse to protect, prioritising instead the celebration of various imported festivals that consume substantial resources. The same funds they later claim to lack when presented with genuine solutions for the distressing condition of the Guanche heritage. “A treasure of the Canarian people that ought to be considered a World Heritage Site.”
