Revisiting the process of aboriginal population of Gran Canaria. Demography, social dynamics and occupation of the territory

Abstract

This work addresses the study of the population and demographic dynamics of the pre-Hispanic occupation of Gran Canaria. For this purpose, we have resorted to the analysis of the summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from different funerary contexts. The results were compared with two theoretical null models of population growth, explaining them based on the available archaeological information, linked to the diachronic changes recorded in the indigenous burials, as well as the variations in the occupation of the territory throughout the historical sequence of the ancient Canarians. To specify the time frame under examination, a formal statistical analysis was carried out to estimate the confidence intervals to place the earliest date of settlement of Gran Canaria. This work also contributes to the renewed debate on the dates of the first permanent settlements in the archipelago. In sum, this has facilitated the proposal of a temporal and social framework to explain the particularities of a complex process of island population in which internal and external dynamics converge.