Quesera
In archaeological terminology, the term quesera is used to describe a special type of stone artifact . The queseras are large boulders into which a series of canals have been cut. They got this name because of their resemblance to the stone or wooden plates on which the shepherds in the Canary Islands make their cheese. Two of these systems are known on the island of Lanzarote. A third was destroyed in the village of San Bartolomé in the 1970s . The Majos , the native inhabitants of the island, are believed to be the originator . Since the majos had no metal tools, only stone tools, it can be assumed that the execution of such an extensive work is a joint effort by several people. It cannot be determined whether the queseras were created at any particular point in time or whether they were created as a result of repeated manipulations.
Quesera de Zonzamas
The Quesera de Zonzamas, also known as Quesera de los Majos , is located in the area of the town of Teguise , on a plateau created by volcanic activity with a view of Arrecife . 29 ° 0 ′ 2 " N , 13 ° 34 ′ 4" W.
Five channels or grooves were machined into a large porous block of basalt. The greatest length of the block is 4.15 m, the greatest width 4.17 m. The channels have a depth of 30 cm and a width between 27 and 45 cm. These have drains of different dimensions that vary between 30 and 50 cm. The canals are oriented to the northwest.
The Quesera de Zonzamas belongs to the Zona Arqueológica de Zonzamas , its distance from the settlement of Poblado de Zonzamas is so great that a direct connection between the two hardly seems likely. Near the Quesera, on the Peña del Majo (rock of the Majo), there are two areas with surfaces on which a total of 14 outlines of human feet (Podomorfos) are carved.
Quesera de Bravo
The other quesera is in the Malpaís de la Corona in the area of the municipality of Haría . It is west of Los jameos del Agua about 12 m above sea level, 29 ° 9 '26 " N , 13 ° 26' 6" W . The Quesera de Bravo was named after the Canarian scientist Telesforo Bravo Expósito (1913-2002), who found it in 1953. The system is dug into the porous, flat basalt rock . Four channels have been worked out. The eastern one is divided into four further sections. It appears possible that other channels have been removed. The canals are arranged roughly in a north-south direction and almost horizontally.
meaning
There are different hypotheses regarding the purpose of the plants. They were thought to be places of worship, meeting places, prehistoric temples and places for rituals or sacred places. Various astronomical investigations were also carried out, but they did not produce any results. The thought that these were places where grain was ground is hardly to be accepted. Due to its location in open terrain with lots of wind, it is unlikely that anything has been processed that is lighter than liquid. The possibility that the queseras were used to prepare products such as Orseille or milkweed can be ruled out as there is no water in the immediate vicinity. Since there is currently no valid explanation for the purpose of the queseras, it is believed that they could be associated with any rituals that included the spilling of liquids.
Web links
Remarks
-
↑ According to the dictionary of the Spanish language of the Real Academía Española , "Quesera" means u. a .:
- Mesa o tabla a propósito para hacer quesos ≈ table or board for making cheese
- Lugar o sitio donde se fabrican los quesos ≈ A place or a place where cheese is made
- Persona que hace o vende queso ≈ A person who makes or sells cheese
- Vasija de barro, que se destina para guardar y conservar los quesos ≈ clay vessel intended to store or preserve cheese
- Plato con cubierta, ordinariamente de cristal, en que se sirve el queso a la mesa. ≈ Plate with a cover, usually made of glass, on which the cheese is served at the table.
Individual evidence
- ^ 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. 205 (Spanish, ulpgc.es [accessed June 28, 2016]).
- ↑ Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deportes: Zonzamas (queseras y construcciones ciclópeas). Bienes de Interés Cultural. Gobierno de Canarias, accessed May 26, 2018 (Spanish).
- ↑ Jonathan A. Santana Cabrera: Zonzamas: un yacimiento singular en la isla de Lanzarote . Ed .: Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria (= XXII Coloquio Historia canario - americana ). Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2016, p. 1301-1318 (Spanish, ulpgc.es [accessed September 3, 2018]).
- ^ Matilde Arnay de la Rosa: Las observaciones arqueológicas de un naturalista . In: Julio Afonso-Carrillo (ed.): Cien años de Don Tele / Celebrando y recordando al sabio y la persona . Instituto de Estudioas Hispánicos de Canarias, Puerto de la Cruz 2014, ISBN 978-84-617-1648-7 , pp. 28 (Spanish, iehcan.com [PDF; accessed September 4, 2018]).
- ^ 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. 206 (Spanish, ulpgc.es [accessed June 28, 2016]).
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 , p. 205 ff . (Spanish, ulpgc.es [accessed June 28, 2016]).