Two of the oldest human remains in the Canary Islands, found more than half a century ago in Lanzarote, have revealed new clues about violence in the first societies to inhabit the islands. A team of six researchers from Tibicena, the Museo Canario and the Cabildo of Gran Canaria has discovered that both individuals, a man and a woman, were murdered between the 3rd and 4th centuries. According to the results, recently published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, the man was stabbed repeatedly with a metal weapon, while the woman was brutally executed with a club.
Stabbed with a metal dagger
The man, aged between 25 and 35, was found in 1968 at La Chifletera, in the south of Lanzarote, inside a volcanic tube. Although this discovery dates back decades, recent analyses have revealed that he died after receiving at least eight stab wounds to the back, which probably pierced vital organs such as the heart, the lungs and the liver. The discovery is of great scientific significance, since the wound was caused by a metal dagger, the oldest ever recorded in the Canary Islands. The use of a metal weapon in the 3rd century is surprising, given that the islands had no minerals for forging metals. This suggests that the dagger may have been a relic brought by the first Berber settlers from North Africa, or by a sailor who had a fatal encounter with an islander.
The man's skeleton, which is incomplete, was found without its skull, but alongside a plait of red hair some 50 centimetres long. It is believed that he may have been buried in the volcanic tube in order to conceal him, or as a punishment, a practice the ancient Canarians used with those condemned to death. This idea is supported by the fact that he was buried alone and in a remote spot, far from the aboriginal cemeteries.
The execution of a young woman at Los Jameos del Agua
At another point on the island, in the north, the remains of a young woman aged between 18 and 25 were found in 1977 at Los Jameos del Agua, while the volcanic tube was being adapted to turn it into a tourist attraction. Analyses of her skull, the only part of her body that has been preserved, have revealed four deep wounds caused by a club. Researchers believe that her death was the result of an execution, since the brutality of the blows suggests extreme physical violence, probably going beyond what was needed to kill her.
This type of punishment has parallels in other archaeological finds in Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria, where similar executions have been documented. In Lanzarote, however, these discoveries are unique for their antiquity, dating back to around AD 300. The way in which she was executed suggests that it may have been a ritual punishment, possibly imported from the lands of origin of the first Canarians.
The discovery of these remains with wounds inflicted by metal and blunt weapons raises new questions about the degree of isolation of the ancient Canarians. Although it was thought that they lived in almost total isolation from their arrival on the islands until the coming of the Europeans in the 14th century, these discoveries suggest that they may have had sporadic contact with the outside world. The dagger that ended the man's life could have reached Lanzarote from Africa or have been brought by a foreign seafarer, which would indicate that the islanders were not completely cut off from the rest of the world as early as the 3rd century.
Unsolved mysteries
Despite the new discoveries, many questions remain unanswered. Why were these individuals buried alone, far from the traditional cemeteries? Were both murders the result of local conflicts or of clashes with foreigners? And, in the case of the murdered man, what happened to his skull, which was never found? Archaeologists continue to study these remains in order to shed more light on the circumstances of their deaths and their importance within the history of the first populations of the Canary Islands.
These discoveries reinforce the idea that the early colonisation of Lanzarote was not a peaceful process. The struggle for scarce resources and adaptation to a hostile environment, combined with possible social tensions or the arrival of outsiders, may have generated violent episodes such as those that led to the deaths of these two individuals. According to the researchers, these remains offer us a window onto a past in which violence, insecurity and conflict were part of everyday life for the first inhabitants of the Canary Islands.