Living on an island. Cultural change, chronology, and climatic factors in the relationship with the sea among canarian-amazigh populations on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)

To understand the relationship between past peoples and the sea in a context of oceanic islands, just as in the case of other cultural behaviours, it is necessary to consider many more factors than the mere proximity to the coast. Traditions, ways of life, sailing ability and knowledge, diet, and so on, determine the way in which this relationship is expressed. This paper addresses this matter through the study of external auditory exostosis (EAE) among the aboriginal population of Gran Canaria. The analysis has been completed by contrasting this bioanthropological marker with such other variables as chronology, territory, social dynamics and environmental changes. The study examined a large sample (MNI = 637) from all over the island and a time interval of more than 1200 years, practically the whole pre-Hispanic period. EAE is present in 17.1% of the total population analysed, with no statistically significant differences between males and females. This high prevalence is even more evident when considering its notable incidence among coastal communities and its chronological concentration, between the 13th and 15th centuries, that is, the last 300 years of the historical sequence considered. On balance, the results indicate relevant variation in the relationship that these populations had with the sea in accordance with the historical processes and social changes that took place over more than a millennium.