Santuarios y espacios sacralizados entre los antiguos canarios

Abstract

In the context of the Archaeology of Social Practice, we analyse some archaeological sites of the ancient inhabitants from the Canary Islands related with magic-religious activities. Many of them were located on the top of montains. On ethnohistorical grounds, these sites were considered sacralized places, having an important ideological significance in the social cohesion and reproduction of these societies. On the other hand, in certain areas there is an extraordinary concentration of symbolic elements, such as rock engraving stations and sites of ritual significance. All these data suggest that these territories played an outstanding role in the social productive model of these people.