Editing Guanches (section)

=== Prehistory ===
{{See also|Canary Islands in pre-colonial times}}
[[File:Museodelanaturalezayelhombre02.jpg|250px|thumb|Guanche pottery exhibit ([[Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre]], [[Tenerife]]).]]
Genetic and linguistic evidence show that North African peoples made a significant contribution to the aboriginal population of the Canaries, notably, following [[desertification]] of the [[Sahara]] (post-[[6th millennium BC|6000 BC]]). There are ties between the Guanche language and the Berber languages of North Africa, particularly when comparing [[numeral system]]s.<ref name="Bynon J. 1970, pp 64–77"/><ref name="Dalby, 1998"/> Research into the genetics of the Guanche population has led to the conclusion that they share an ancestry with Berber peoples who immigrated from [[Northwest Africa]].{{sfn|Rodríguez-Varela et al.|2017}}<ref name="Maca">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201075 |title=Ancient mtDNA analysis and the origin of the Guanches |year=2003 |last1=Maca-Meyer |first1=Nicole |last2=Arnay |first2=Matilde |last3=Rando |first3=Juan Carlos |last4=Flores |first4=Carlos |last5=González |first5=Ana M. |last6=Cabrera |first6=Vicente M. |last7=Larruga |first7=José M. |journal=[[European Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=155–62 |pmid=14508507 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Lawrence R. |last2=Bellingham |first2=Peter |title=Island Environments in a Changing World |page=162 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780521519601}}</ref>

The islands were visited by a number of other peoples and representatives of distant civilizations during recorded history; the [[Numidians]], [[Phoenicians]], and [[Carthaginians]] all knew of the islands and made frequent visits,<ref>{{cite book |last=Galindo |first=Juan de Abreu |title=The History of the Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation |isbn=1-4021-7269-9 |page=173 |chapter=VII |date=1 January 1999}}</ref> including expeditions dispatched from [[Mogador]] by [[Juba II|Juba]].<ref>{{cite web |first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |title=Mogador: promontory fort |website=The Megalithic Portal |editor-first=Andy |editor-last=Burnham |date=2 November 2007 |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17926 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref>

Based on Roman [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]], found on and near the island of [[Lanzarote]], the Romans visited the Canary Islands during their occupation of mainland North Africa between the [[1st century|1st]] and [[4th century|4th centuries AD]]; the artifacts found show that the Romans engaged in trade with the people of the island. However, there is no evidence of them ever settling on or invading the Canaries.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Andrew L. |last=Slayman |title=Roman Trade With the Canary Islands |journal=Archeology Newsbriefs |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |volume=50 |number=3 |date=May–June 1997 |url=http://www.archaeology.org/9705/newsbriefs/canaries.html |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> [[Archaeology]] of the Canaries seems to reflect diverse levels of technology, with items differing widely from the [[Neolithic]] culture that would have been encountered by the Spanish, at the time of their conquest.

Scholars believe that the original settling by humans on the islands likely resulted in the [[extinction]] of uniquely-adapted [[Endemism|endemic]] [[species]], such as [[reptile]]s and [[mammal]]s exhibiting [[Island gigantism|insular gigantism]]; one example is believed to be ''[[Canariomys bravoi]]'', the extinct giant rat of Tenerife.

[[Pliny the Elder]], a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] author and military officer drawing from the accounts of [[Juba II]] (ancient King of [[Mauretania]]), stated that a Mauretanian expedition to the islands, circa [[50 BC]], found the [[ruins]] of great buildings, albeit with no population to speak of.<ref>Pliny, "Natural History" [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+6.37&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137 Bk 6 ch 37]</ref> If this account is accurate, it may suggest that the Guanche were not the only inhabitants, or the first ones;<ref name="EB1911" /> alternatively, this could imply that the Mauretanian expedition did not explore the islands thoroughly.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}

Tenerife, specifically the archaeological site of the [[Cave of the Guanches]] in [[Icod de los Vinos]], has provided evidence of habitation dating to the [[6th century BC]]. This is based on the analyses of [[ceramic]]s and [[pottery]] artifacts that were found inside the cave.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://turismo.opennemas.com/articulo/cultura/protohistoria-tenerife/20140816110120000286.html |title=Protohistoria de Tenerife |language=es |trans-title=Protohistory of Tenerife |website=turismo.opennemas.com |date=16 August 2014 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref>

Historically, the Guanche were the first peoples of Tenerife. Their population seems to have lived in relative obscurity and isolation up until the time of Castilian conquest (ca. the [[14th century]]); [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]], [[Portugal|Portuguese]], and [[Castilians|Castilian]] ships may have visited the archipelago earlier for trade purposes, from the second half of the [[8th century]] onward. The Spanish gradually applied the term "Guanche" to the indigenous populations of all seven Canary Islands,<ref name="EB1911" /> with those living on Tenerife being the most important or powerful.

What remains of their language, Guanche—a few expressions, vocabulary words and the proper names of ancient chieftains, still borne by certain families<ref name="EB1911" />—exhibits positive similarities with the Berber languages.<ref name="Bynon J. 1970, pp 64–77">{{cite book |last=Bynon |first=J. |chapter=The contribution of linguistics to history in the field of Berber studies. |editor-last=Dalby |editor-first=D. |title=Language and history in Africa |location=New York |publisher=Africana Publishing Corporation |date=1970 |pages=64–77}}</ref><ref name="Dalby, 1998">{{cite book |first=Andrew |last=Dalby |title=Dictionary of Languages |date=1998 |page=88 |quote=Guanche, indigenous language of the Canary Islands, is generally thought to have been a Berber language.}}</ref> The first reliable account of the Guanche language was provided by the Genoese explorer [[Nicoloso da Recco]] in 1341, with a translation of numbers used by the islanders.

According to European chroniclers, the Guanche did not possess a system of writing at the time of conquest; their potential writing system may have fallen into disuse, or aspects of it were simply overlooked by the colonists. Inscriptions, glyphs, rock paintings and carvings are all quite abundant throughout the archipelago. [[Petroglyph]]s attributed to other [[History of the Mediterranean region|Mediterranean civilizations]] have also been found on some of the islands. In [[1752]], [[Domingo Vandewalle]], a military governor of [[Las Palmas (province)|Las Palmas]],<ref name="EB1911" /> ventured to investigate the petroglyphs. Aquilino Padron, a priest at Las Palmas, catalogued inscriptions at El Julan, La Candía and La Caleta, all on [[Hierro|El Hierro]]. In [[1878]], Dr. René Verneau discovered rock carvings in the ravines of Las Balos that resembled [[History of Libya|Libyan]]<ref name="EB1911" /> or [[Numidia]]n script, dating from the time of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] occupation or earlier. In other locations, [[Tifinagh|Libyco-Berber script]] has been identified.