Talk abstract details

During the late 1990s, extensive archaeoastronomical fieldwork was performed in the island of Gran Canaria, which is the richest of the Canaries from the archaeological point of view. Solstitial and equinoctial "markers" were discovered or postulated along the island in connection with the calendric information contained in the historical sources. A suggestive relation to the major southern lunastice was also proposed for the tandem Roque Nublo - Roque Bentaiga. A decade later, a new set of appropriately scheduled observations have been settled during the last three years in order to test the postulated relationships. Besides, new sites such as Montaña Santidad and Los Altos del Coronadero were explored. Our new data and detailed on site observations have confirmed some of the earlier proposals and have tingled some others. As a highlight of our results, the lunastice rising at Roque Nublo and the summer solstice sunset at Teide, as observed from the sacred sites of Roque Bentaiga and Los Llanos de Gamona, respectively, may be catalogued as outstanding examples of the strong relationship between astronomy and landscape in ancient Canary Island culture.