Artefactos e instrumentos de piedra en un espacio de almacenamiento colectivo. El caso de El Cenobio de Valerón (Gran Canaria, España)

Abstract

Communal granaries are a peculiarity of the archaeological record of the pre-European stage in Gran Canaria Island, although they are more known in North Africa. Among them, the Cenobio of Valerón has singularities that raise it as one of the most spectacular archaeological sites of ancient canaries. Its monumentality and the variety of interpretations about its functionality have attracted scientifics and curious people for a long time. Despite the changes experienced during more than 300 years, there are elements that still give information about the commodities preserved there, the strategies of its construction and the variety of activities developed inside. We are presenting here the whole set of lithic artifacts related to the plant processing and in other tasks, such as the carving of silos. This morpho-technical and functional study is the first approach that takes into account these devices in a context of storage. So, we believe that it may help to better understand the nature and functions that granaries had in the social relations of production from the ancient canaries.