Archaeologists have analysed insect remains preserved in the seventh-ninth century AD funerary cave of Cruz de la Esquina, Gran Canaria, revealing it was used by the island’s Indigenous people for food storage before being adapted into a burial site.
Before Spanish conquest in the 15th century AD, the Canary Islands were occupied by the Indigenous people. Now, following colonial destruction, little is known about their culture and customs, in particular their unique burial practices.
“It was already known that Indigenous communities in Gran Canaria used caves for funerary purposes, including the deposition of wrapped bodies”, says lead author of the research, Pedro Henríquez-Valido from the University of Alcalá.
However, how soon after death these burials took place is unclear and it was unknown whether the caves served a different purpose before being transformed into burial spaces.
The “extraordinary preservation” of the cave of Cruz de la Esquina in Gran Canaria made it a perfect site to research, as organic materials such as wood, rope and leather had survived. This meant the collection of preserved pest remains was possible too.
“Insects can provide valuable evidence for reconstructing post-mortem processes”, explains Henríquez-Valido. “We aimed to determine whether the insect remains from Cruz de la Esquina could clarify the funerary treatment of the bodies”.
The team set out to identify insect taxa associated with funerary decomposition, reconstruct funerary practices and investigate whether the cave was also used for purposes other than burial.
They found over 8000 preserved arthropod remains. These spanned a range of species, reflecting different uses of the site. A significant percentage of the remains comprised storage pests, suggesting there were lots of grains present.
The quantity of pests indicates more cereals were present than if they had simply been placed with the bodies as funerary offerings, suggesting that the caves were used for food storage before being adapted for funerary functions.
The results also challenge our understanding of how the bodies were prepared after death. Previous interpretations suggested corpses may have been exposed to the sunlight to decompose before being buried in caves. This research indicates that corpses were instead buried within a short window of death.
“Archaeoentomological remains have revealed the hidden biography of Cruz de la Esquina: before it became a burial cave, where bodies were deposited shortly after death, it was a granary where food was stored”, Henríquez-Valido states.
The findings also have implications for Indigenous studies in the Canary Islands more broadly, adding another layer to our knowledge of poorly understood cultural practices and helping to identify similar sites across the wider island.
The team now plans to apply these same methods to other caves across Gran Canaria. This will help show if Cruz de la Esquina is part of a pattern across the Canary Islands, or if it is an isolated case.
“This research highlights the potential of archaeoentomology to refine our understanding of funerary environments and to provide new perspectives on the transformation of archaeological deposits”, concludes co-author Jean-Bernard Huchet from the University of Bordeaux.