Insect remains reveal Indigenous burial practices in the Canary Islands
Archaeologists have analyzed insect remains preserved in the 7th to 9th centuries AD funerary cave of Cruz de la Esquina, Gran Canaria, and found that it was used by the island's Indigenous people for food storage before being adapted into a burial site. The findings have been published in the journal Antiquity.
Archaeologists analyzed insect remains found in a 7th to 9th century AD funerary cave in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, which revealed the site was used by Indigenous people for both food storage and burials before Spanish conquest. The cave, Cruz de la Esquina, was a granary for storing cereals before being repurposed for funerary purposes.
Over 8,000 preserved arthropod remains, including storage pests, suggest large quantities of grains were present in the cave. The insects also indicate the bodies were buried shortly after death, challenging previous theories that corpses were exposed to sunlight before burial. This research, published in Antiquity, sheds light on Indigenous burial practices and cultural traditions in the Canary Islands, filling gaps left by colonial destruction.
The study emphasizes the value of archaeoentomology in understanding funerary environments and the transformation of archaeological deposits.
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