The latest exploration campaign carried out in the Teide National Park identified 92 archaeological sites, including 15 unpublished obsidian workshops, and 131 ethnographic sites that significantly expand the inventory of cultural heritage in the highest point of Spain.
These findings confirm that the Teide’s Canadas are “a key territory” to understand the historical occupation of Tenerife’s summits from the aboriginal era to the 20th century. The research is promoted by the Directorate of Culture and Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands, which states in a press release that this new superficial archaeological survey was carried out by the specialized company Prored, in collaboration with the University of La Laguna.
The Teide was not only occupied and traversed by the aboriginal population. It was also a space of intense activity after the Castilian conquest, completed at the end of the 15th century. In fact, a constant in these explorations is that, as archaeologist Hacomar Ruiz points out, “the ethnographic footprint is notably evident from the remains of charcoal kilns, beehive huts, structures, or resting places.”
Archaeological surveys in a cave in the Teide National Park. / El Día
Regarding the documented archaeological sites, the areas of surface remains not associated with structures or habitat spaces stand out, a phenomenon that, together with scattered ceramic fragments, marks “the idea of a region temporarily inhabited by the indigenous population,” emphasizes Ruiz. According to this data, the Guanche society ascended to the Tenerife peaks seasonally to take advantage of the diverse resources offered by this environment.
These findings confirm that the Canadas of Teide are “a key territory” to understand the historical occupation of Tenerife’s summits
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The location of 15 obsidian workshops, material also known as volcanic glass, and several carving areas and cabins certify, as explained by the other archaeologist leading the research team, Efraín Marrero, “the importance of Las Cañadas linked to the procurement of lithic resources.” This expert cites as an example that this volcanic glass was mainly used as a working tool by the Guanche population.
These findings open new lines of research to be addressed in the context of the I+D Arqueovol project, funded by the Ministry of Science, alongside the University of La Laguna, with Dr. Cristo Manuel Hernández as the principal investigator.
It is a study to analyze the exploitation of obsidian from different perspectives and the relationship between human activities and the volcanic activity of the high mountains. However, obsidian is not the only lithic element exploited in Las Cañadas by the aboriginal population. Elements made of vesicular or porous basalt have also been identified, which were used in the manufacture of millstones for grinding grain.
Experts assert that this volcanic glass was primarily used as a working tool by the Guanche population
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In a paper published in the Canary Islands Studies Yearbook on the occasion of the declaration of Teide as a World Heritage Site, the recently deceased historian Nicolás González Lemus, the volcanologist Juan Carlos Carracedo, and the Forestry Engineer Manuel Durban, director of the Teide National Park, explain the activities carried out by the Guanches on the summit of Spain and the significance of the great volcano:
“Despite the numerous legends and superstitions of the ancient inhabitants of the islands, the indigenous Guanches coexisted with the Teide, and although they knew the violence of its eruptions, they integrated it not only into their religious beliefs but also into their culture. The Cañadas were used by shepherds in the transhumance route, moving their flocks to take advantage of the broom during spring and the first months of summer, and the mountains of La Orotava during the autumn months.
It was the first human occupation of that silent and inhospitable region (Manuel J. Lorenzo Perera, 1991). Viana said that in the shadow of the volcano and its lava, the Guanche shepherd would climb with his flocks to find fresh pastures for his livestock and made his refuge or shepherd’s shelter, and spread out in valleys and ravines, the livestock grazed. They built stone shelters for the livestock and among the rocks, they would leave their most valuable utensils from one year to the next, the gánigos for milk and water, and the tabonas, crafted from obsidians, leaving burials.Afterlife and ancestral customs were his personal belongings, including his pastoral authority. He utilized caves, particularly Diego Hernandez’s cave, situated in the ravine with the same name, from where he observed with a certain fear the grandeur of the volcano.
Archaeological survey in the Teide National Park supported by the Government of the Canary Islands. / El Día
Surrounded by an aura of mystery and magic, even though some scholars subscribed that the Teide never had an esoteric sense for those innocent men who lived with it (Antonio de Viana, 1905). The indigenous transhumance practice was continued by the shepherds established on the island, as Las Cañadas were communal lands. However, the pastoral exploitation of Las Cañadas was gradually prohibited from the 1920s onwards due to the crisis of traditional livestock systems and the environmental damage caused to the flora by the herds (Luis Diego Cuscoy, 1962, Lorenzo Perera, M. 1983 and González Antón, R. y Tejera Gaspar, A. 1990).
An obsidian stone. / El Día
Since 2014, the Directorate General of Culture and Cultural Heritage has been collaborating with the Teide National Park in the program of archaeological surveys and excavations in Las Cañadas. The aim of this project is to deepen the knowledge about the historical occupation of the National Park and complete the inventory of its cultural heritage in order to have an effective resource in the management and dissemination of its archaeological and ethnographic assets.
Director of Culture and Cultural Heritage, Miguel Ángel Clavijo, emphasized the importance of continuing the research because “Las Cañadas is the most significant archaeological site in Tenerife, not only because of its extension, but also because of the amount of information it provides about the island’s past.” This site has “2000 years of history from a cultural perspective, so the Government has the duty to make this important legacy known to the population,” he concludes.
