Much scope by Guanche caves for intrigung cavemen explorations.
Look at the Guanche caves depicted beside. Most of them served as customary dwellings of their people's lower class. Those cavemen who were also called the Guan Chinech, originally, were the natives of Tenerife island called Chinech, Chenech or Achinech. It was found already by early Portuguese explorers and missionaries. Go to La Coruna where you encounter the look-out by the paraglider piste of Los Realejos. Direct your gaze at the mountains opposite with a good camera lens. Zoom in for an even better picture of this awesome, breath taking cave geography and geology of amazing, unique Tenerife Island.Just now, find information on how to get to la Coruna from a country village by the Camino Real Kings Highway of Icod el Alto. Discover steep mountainous cliffs, riddled with caves of all sizes.
Survival of the Tenerife aborigins after 1498When I came to Tenerife in 1997 I was told that some aborigines of stone age times were still living in caves in South Tenerife remote mountain areas. I didn't believe it, really. However, the academic personality Carmen Nieves Luis Garcia of the Folkore Museum Museo Los Alzados located a genuine family of Guanches at Icod el Alto. This family called Los Alzados was still associated with nearby caves by some locals. Unfortunately, most of the stone cavities were bulldozed during road construction, not long ago. Neolithic people cavemen culture TenerifeHuge semi hollow rocks, most of which were extremely hard to access, served a rather small fraction of Neolithic dwellers of Tenerife as hide-outs until the early XX from as early as 1498. Many of them were in Tenerife South or anywhere on hard to reach slopes. However, generally, they were abandoned when tourism developement started by 1970. That was the end of the Tenerife cavemen culture which is said to go back more than 2000 years. Juan Bethencourt Alfonso report on cave culture of GuanchesSo called Pegan aborigines who continued living in caves kept on being very much part of Nomadic Tenerife heritage after Adelantado de Lugo's conquest of the biggest of all Canary Islands. Their occupation by the neolithic tribes of Guanches was still confirmed by early Cabildo documents. Much later, the Tenerife celebrity Juan Bethencourt Alfonso wrote this down as well, before he passed away in the early XX century. Very slowly, more and more cavemen of the Guanches assimilated with the rest of the Spanish population and formed a new resident mix together with slaves of African origin.
Many traditions of Tenerife's pre-colonization inhabitants, such as their ways of goat keeping and the gofio grinding stones, live on, albeit generally partly mechanized, such as a a privately owned museum peace grain grinder of Icod el Alto. Gofio, meat and milc of goats and sheep was the Tenerife cave dwellers' main diet. They needed little clothing because of the fortunate climate in Tenerife. Today, a cape resemblance called Tamarco can be seen in folklore gatherings on rare occasions. However, you will encounter it without sleeves or with the long sleeves of aristocratic Guanches. By the way, the Tamarco of Guanches was made only of goat or sheep hides. Little satchels, as displayed at the ethnic museum of Santa Cruz next to the TEA art museum, were also made of the same leather. The rest of their minimalistic, nomadic dress code was not allowed after the last nine aborigin tribal leaders which were called Menceys made Spain history in Los Realejos. From then on, mummification was also frowned upon. Name changes of the inhabitants of the neolithic Chenech peoples legitamized cults and habits into Spanish customs. Catholic baptism sealed the lot. Tenerife's Romerias date back to the same cavement era. Religious festivals of the island's pre-conquest nomads were synchronized with some celebrations of Tenerife's Spanish customs. Christmas and Easter have their own typical Catholic music and folk art, which is similar to mainland Spain, though. In any case, the taking over over Chinech Pegan festivals, together with their sports, like Lucha Canaria, helped assimilation of all post conquest Tinerfeños. Many of the habits of the impoverished survivors of old Achinech who had lost most of their neolythic roots disappeared in a colonized island's melting pot or were carried over to mainland Spain or even to South America on slave boats. There, winds of change had even less merci for Chinech's cavemen culture.
Tenerife wild berriesGuanches were eating wild berries for vitamin C. Nothing is known of wild fruit of Achinech for tinting.
However, they colored stone beads with the so called dragon tree blood or by using the Echineum plant. The natural dye making of the Guanches by using Echineum insects and dragon tree sap of the trunk and roots may see a comeback, eventually. Perhaps even wild berries, which are portrayed at the Museum of Man and Nature, may find a place on our food shelves one day.
Nevertheless, cave dwelling went on partly. It was practical for herdsmen of goats and sheep. It served for the Tenerife cavemens' black pigs, sometimes as well.
Mountain dweller guerilla tactics of Tenerife's mountain nomads of XV and later could not really be called guerilla warfare. They mostly consisted of raids geared towards lowland farms and their animal and poultry stocks. Cave geologyIn fact, Tenerife knows much about cave geology, already. It also has the world's longuest volcanic tube cave. This mountainous tubular hole runs from the Canadas del Teide with their highly interesting climatic conditions right down to Icod de los Vinos. There, it stops not far from the ocean, but nothing about cavemen occupations has been published about it. This most beautiful cave leaves visitors spellbound with its big opening cavity on two levels. The cave's name is Cueva del Viento which means Cave of the wind. It is not known either if this cave had a special purpose with cults of the society of Tenerife's native neolithic people. Black Madonna and Chaxiraxi
Important cult relics of neolith Tenerife inhabitants were left at Candelaria. This town remains the Canary Islands' Mecca of worship towards the Black Madonna as mother of Christ. There, famous caves had been harbouring the black virgen of the Guanches, until washed out to sea. A replica was made. In fact, all were reproductions. However, no black Madonna made Christians out of Tenerife cavemen. To the contrary, they kept on adoring her as Chaxiraxi, their ancient symbol of good harvests and as a fertility goddess. In fact, women had more prestige in the society of Tenerife's mountain and cave dwellers, as isvery typical for Neolithic people. This is contrary to the Spanish culture of the Middle Ages.
Guimar and the altar of the sunGuimar's pyramids were always to the honor of the Tenerife sun. while Candelaria remained dedicated towards the Madonna with the black skin.Beware of cave dangerIn the early XX, a small groups of tourists perrished because of a natural lethal gas in one of Tenerife's caves of the Guanches. Unknown caves on any Canary Island should never be explored by amateurs.More cave geology must prevailNevertheless, few of Tenerife's cavernous hollow rocks have been marked. Many were even destroyed by road construction, as happened by Icod de los Trigos. Cave explorations may not only give more geological clues but, may uncover more secrets about the origin of a small Macaronesian people which lived once like in stone age.
There is one stone inscription of a certified Berber sign of North Africa. It is from Tenerife finds. It suggests that there may have been some writing by Achinech cavemen of Tenerife or by people older than them. Several other symbols and signs which look like familiar letters are displayed on a white document in the stone's context at the famous Museum of Man and Nature of Tenerife. But, those scribbled writings look rather like a study result than like an archeology find. More archaeological research and more cave and soil excavations are absolutely required.
Chenech's tribes lived partly like in stone age, mummified their aristocrats, worshipped the sun on pyramids in Guimar, celebrated Solstice, had an accurate calendar and could read the stars.
The Chenech peoples had woodwork to an extent. Admire this elegant timber folk art on your right. They made lovely wooden Guanche dish bowls which didn't last well over the centuries, unfortunately. They also fabricated tools and weapons which were assembled by wood and stone but, had no bow and arrow, while no Tenerife plants would have been poisonous enough for the bows. Venomous snakes were not native to to their land, either. They also didn't make furniture. Also, it is believed that they didn't even attempt to build wooden canoes. This is very strange, as one can even look from some Canary Islands to the next when no clouds block. Perhaps, the Guanches had not found a way to fight woodworm. It is so widely spread on the Canary Islands and none of their timbers is hard enough to resist. The resin from the dragon tree may not have lasted in salt water. Timberpest control would have been important for furniture as well, on a rather large scale. Anyway, they were people who were content with what they had which must have been more of a mass philosophy than an attitude. The cavemen of Achinech had one main god called Achanán. They also had priestesses, nuns, a health care system with products from their soil and plants and they had a unique distance language which is still used in Tenerife's La Gomera and el Hierro. They had a sociopolitical system which worked, while no death penalty existed. They only fell into extreme, political disunity, after the baptizing of their last nine kings when Los Realejos made Spain history. Of course, the conquerror Adelantado de Lugo knew how to play other cards with relentless hands. Intrigue and encouraged treason were other strategies used by him to crush a people's spirit. Now, continuing to explore an ancient culture such as that of Chinech can only enrich Tenerife history Santa Cruz as well as its ethnology and anthropology. However, do not expect an Eldorado of gold and precious jewels inside Tenerife caves. Please, click plus1 to show your appreciation of this information. Thank you very much. Back to Los Realejos with folk dances of Neolithic traces.
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The muflons seem to be typical for rugged, volcanic islands. Mind their menacing horns, remnants of which seem to be still missing at the Santa Cruz 'Museum of Man and Nature'(Museo del hombre y de la Naturaleza), while beadwork, shell jewelry and needles made of fish bone or horn for sewing the Tamarco capes of Guanches can be seen. This is depicted beside together with other stonemen neolithic tools, some of which resembled astounding knives made of sharp, glasslike, volcanic silica also known as
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Gabriele Muellenberg 
Tenerifeholidayhomeinsiderguidecom
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