Guatimac

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Guatimac, Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz ( Tenerife ).

The Guatimac is a fired anthropomorphic sculpture made of clay , which was very likely created by Guanches , the indigenous people of the island of Tenerife . The figure has a height of 6.05 cm, a width of 4.05 cm and a thickness of 0.73 cm in the middle. The figure weighs 18.7 g. The sculpture was found in 1885 in the Herques Ravine cave in Fasnia in the south-east of Tenerife in a crevice. It was wrapped in a piece of fur, similar to the Canarian mummies . In the middle of the 18th century, a large number of mummies were found in a burial cave near the site.

There are various hypotheses about the importance of the object in the Guanche culture . Archaeologists classify the Guatimac as an idol of the anthropomorphic and asexual types. The idea that the object is the representation of a revered deity is largely rejected. Rather, it is believed that the Guatimac should keep evil spirits from emerging from the earth. The way the figure was placed in the crevice speaks for this meaning. The hole, which makes it possible to carry the figure with a cord around the neck, speaks in favor of its importance as an amulet .

The Guatimac is the only detectable figure of its kind found on the island of Tenerife today. In the 19th century there were repeated reports of finds of small figures without these having been scientifically recorded or the objects still exist today.

The Guatimac is exhibited in the Museo Arqueológico del Puerto de La Cruz .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marian Montesdeoca: La Religón de arena una revisión de la idolatría guanche a la luz de las fuentes históricas . In: Tabona: Revista de prehistoria y de arqueología . No. 13 , 2004, ISSN  0213-2818 , p. 251 (Spanish, [1] [accessed September 9, 2016]).
  2. ^ Antonio Tejera Gaspar; José Juan Jiménez González; Jonathan Allen: Las manifestaciones artísticas prehispánicas y su huella . Ed .: Gobierno de Canarias, Consejería de Educación, Universidades, Cultura y Deportes (=  Historia cultural del arte en Canarias ). Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2008, ISBN 978-84-7947-469-0 , p. 145 (Spanish, [2] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  3. ^ Antonio Tejera Gaspar, keyword Ídolos y estelas in Gran Enciclopedia del Arte en Canarias. CCPC, La Laguna, 1998
  4. ↑ Marian Montesdeoca: La Religón de arena una revisión de la idolatría guanche a la luz de las fuentes históricas . In: Tabona: Revista de prehistoria y de arqueología . No. 13 , 2004, ISSN  0213-2818 , p. 251 (Spanish, [3] [accessed September 9, 2016]).
  5. ↑ Museo Arqueológico del Puerto de La Cruz, Exposición. Patronato del Museo Arqueológico del Puerto de La Cruz, accessed August 16, 2016 (Spanish).

Web links

literature

  • Antonio Tejera Gaspar; José Juan Jiménez González; Jonathan Allen: Las manifestaciones artísticas prehispánicas y su huella . Ed .: Gobierno de Canarias, Consejería de Educación, Universidades, Cultura y Deportes (=  Historia cultural del arte en Canarias ). Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2008, ISBN 978-84-7947-469-0 (Spanish, [4] [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  • Marian Montesdeoca: La Religón de arena una revisión de la idolatría guanche a la luz de las fuentes históricas . In: Tabona: Revista de prehistoria y de arqueología . No. 13 , 2004, ISSN  0213-2818 (Spanish, [5] [accessed September 9, 2016]).