Not just charcoal: Analysis of wood remains from aboriginal communal granaries of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

Abstract

Anthracology has a great potential to provide meaningful data about the availability of woody resources in the environment and the human acquisition strategies in the past. In fact, wood has been one of the most used resources with different purposes. However, due to its perishable nature, wood is usually preserved by carbonization. The aim of this paper is to discuss archaeobotanical data from dessicated wood fragments recovered at communal granaries (La Fortaleza, Temisas, Cuevas Muchas) dating to the pre-Hispanic period (ca. 500 – 1500 AD) in Gran Canaria, an island of the Canarian archipelago. For this purpose, non-destructive sampling from these materials was carried out followed by microscopic observation of the ligneous cellular structure. Besides this, analysis of scarce wood charcoal asemblages from these contexts has also been performed indicating different uses of wood, i.e. wood as an element of space management inside the silos and wood charcoal as part of the mortar used to seal and protect them. Beyond botanical identification and selection criteria, our data stress microanatomical features observed related to biodegradation by fungi and insects. Thus, our data will provide new insight into the use and management of wood in communal granaries by aboriginal groups from Gran Canaria.