Violent encounter or capital punishment? Evidence of lethal violence in an indigenous burial from Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain)

Abstract

This paper focuses on an unusual Pre-Hispanic burial, 11–12th century cal AD, from Fuerteventura Island. The pattern of injuries of the skeletal remains, together with the grave’s features suggest exceptional circumstances of death and funerary treatment differing from those commonly observed elsewhere among the indigenous population of the Canary Archipelago. The study first uses forensic anthropology techniques to characterise the individual’s injuries before turning to archaeological and ethno-historical records of the indigenous populations to identify the potential scenarios explaining the fatal injuries. The nature of the peri-mortem lesions, especially those to the head, is consistent with an intention to kill. This case provides an opportunity to analyze the mechanisms of violence in a society with strong environmental limitations and conditions of isolation, as well as to deepen the concept of justice in ancient times.