Guanche mummies of Necochea
The Guanche mummies of Necochea are two mummies of Guanche individuals, who were the ancient Berber autochthones of the Canary Islands. The specimens are currently on display at the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The Necochea mummies are so-called because they were first exhibited in 2003 at the Museo Civil de Ciencias Naturales in Necochea, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.[1]
These two individuals, male and female, respectively, the woman would be between 20 and 24 years old and be wrapped in a bundle of pigskin. The other mummy is a man between 25 and 29 years old and has a special feature, its position with legs bent with his heels against his buttocks.[2] According to experts, the mummies date back to the ninth century.
The exact place on the island where the mummies come from is not known. It is believed that one of the mummies may even come from a burial cave in the Barranco de Guayonje in Tacoronte and the other mummy of La Orotava, but according to others could come from Barranco de Herques in Güímar. They were part of the collection of a private museum in Tacoronte.[3] In the nineteenth century it was sold to the La Plata Museum in Argentina, reaching the hands of an unidentified collector. They were later transferred to the city of Necochea, until, in 2003, were returned to Tenerife.[4] This was the first return of mummified human remains from the Americas to Europe in the history of archeology.
Identity and dating
The Necochea mummies are the remains of a young woman and a young man from the Guanche population of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands. The woman is estimated to have died between the ages of 20 and 24, while the man is estimated to have died between the ages of 25 and 29. Researchers have dated the mummies to approximately the ninth century CE.[2]
The original burial places of the two individuals are uncertain. Based on historical records and collection histories, researchers have suggested that one individual may have originated from a burial cave in the Barranco de Guayonje, a ravine on Tenerife's northern coast near Tacoronte, while the other may have come from La Orotava in northwestern Tenerife. Other researchers have proposed that the mummies originated from the Barranco de Herques, a ravine on Tenerife's southeastern coast near Güímar.[3]
Burial and mummification
The male mummy was wrapped in a bundle composed of several layers of leather taken from herbivorous animals. The coverings were assembled from sewn pieces of leather using different stitching techniques and secured with bindings applied during the preparation of the body. Evidence from the bindings indicates that the wrappings were applied before the body was bent into its final position.[5]
Traces of additional bindings survived on the leather coverings, including one strip that encircled the first toe of the left foot and secured the second, third, and fourth toes while leaving the fifth toe free. According to the researchers, this method of binding the toes had not previously been documented among known Guanche mummies.[5]
The male mummy is notable for its extreme flexed position, with the heels resting against the buttocks. Researchers identified this posture as a significant feature because it confirms historical descriptions of similarly positioned Guanche mummies that have not survived. The authors suggested that differences in the positioning of the bodies and the construction of their bundles and bindings may be related to gender, adaptation to funerary space, or other cultural factors.[5]
Fewer details of the female mummy's wrappings have been published. Museum records describe her as being wrapped in a pigskin covering as part of a mummy bundle.[5][2]
Exhibition and restitution
The two Guanche mummies were removed from Tenerife during the late nineteenth century and remained in Argentina for more than a century. During that time they passed through several museum and private collections before eventually becoming part of the holdings of the Museo Civil de Ciencias Naturales in Necochea.[3][6]
In 1995, researchers identified the mummies in Necochea and renewed efforts to secure their return. Negotiations involving researchers, museum officials, and government representatives in Argentina and Spain continued for several years before a final agreement was reached in 2003. The mummies arrived in Tenerife on 3 September 2003, more than one hundred years after their removal from the island.[6]
Research carried out after their return found that both mummies had been altered while in museum collections. Portions of the displayed bodies had been reconstructed using remains from other individuals, and modern materials had been incorporated into the specimens. Earlier examinations conducted while the mummies were in Argentina interpreted wires visible within one specimen as evidence of advanced surgical procedures. Later study showed that the wires were actually part of a modern museum reconstruction. Researchers interpreted these modifications as examples of earlier museum practices intended to create more complete display specimens.[3][6]
Today, the mummies are housed at the Museum of Nature and Man in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Envían dos momias de Necochea a Canarias". lanacion.com.ar. 27 August 2003. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Museos de Tenerife - "Las momias guanches de Necochea"". www.museosdetenerife.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
- 1 2 3 4 Adrian, Candelaria Rosario; Aguilar, Mercedes del Arco; Aguilar, del Carmen del Arco; Oval, Mercedes Martin; Anton, Rafael Gonzales; Martin, Conrado Rodriguez (2005). "Museography of the Guanche mummies from Necochea ( Argentina)". Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale. 80 (1). doi:10.4081/jbr.2005.10245. ISSN 2284-0230.
- ↑ "Más de 53.000 personas han visitado ya las momias de Necochea". eldia.es. 25 January 2006.
- 1 2 3 4 del Arco Aguilar, Mercedes; Adrián, Candelaria Rosario; del Arco Aguilar, María del Carmen; Martín Oval, Mercedes; González Antón, Rafael; Rodríguez Martín, Conrado (2005). "Macroscopic study of the Guanche mummies from Necochea (Argentina)". Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale. 80 (1). doi:10.4081/jbr.2005.10236.
- 1 2 3 Rodríguez-Martín, Conrado; González Antón, Rafael; Martín Oval, Mercedes; Rosario, Candelaria; del Arco, Mercedes; del Arco, Carmen; Guichón, Ricardo; Flegenheimer, Nora (2005). "The Restitution of two Guanche Mummies by Necochea (Argentina)". Journal of Biological Research. 80 (1): 268–271.