MOMUS
July 13th, 2006, 03:04 PM
Guanches (also: Guanchis or Guanchos) were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands). This people, whose origin is uncertain, were still at a Stone Age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age) level when the Europeans first arrived in the Middle Ages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages). Their culture as such has since disappeared, although some traces can still be found.
Early Spanish accounts seem to indicate at least three distinct populations, each inhabiting different islands, and that at least some of the islanders exhibited physical traits also seen in northern European populations. Early chroniclers described one group as tall, blonde and blue-eyed, another as being of medium height and dark complexion, and the third group was said to be of smaller stature. The Guanche population of Tenerife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife) were, according to accounts from the 15th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century), tall, tan-skinned, and powerfully built, with some having blond hair and blue eyes. The 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannica) notes that the Guanches were blue- or grey-eyed and had blondish hair, and that they resembled a Cro-Magnon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cro-Magnon) people.
More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanches
Whistling Language
One one mountainous Canary island, Gomera, the natives still communicate using a whistling language:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/18/whistle.language.ap/
Island of Dogs
The notorious Presa Canario originated on the Canary Islands, which got the name after the dog, not a famous bird. In fact, the word "cane" gave rise to the island name. The island was referred to as "the Island of Dogs."
This is the dog the Spaniards trained as wardogs to help them in their conquest of the New World. Many were the Indians who were disemboweled by the huge "pitbulls on steroids". This is also the breed that gained recent notoriety for ripping the throat of a San Francisco lesbian.
http://www.presa-canario-canary-dogs.com/
Early Spanish accounts seem to indicate at least three distinct populations, each inhabiting different islands, and that at least some of the islanders exhibited physical traits also seen in northern European populations. Early chroniclers described one group as tall, blonde and blue-eyed, another as being of medium height and dark complexion, and the third group was said to be of smaller stature. The Guanche population of Tenerife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife) were, according to accounts from the 15th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century), tall, tan-skinned, and powerfully built, with some having blond hair and blue eyes. The 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannica) notes that the Guanches were blue- or grey-eyed and had blondish hair, and that they resembled a Cro-Magnon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cro-Magnon) people.
More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanches
Whistling Language
One one mountainous Canary island, Gomera, the natives still communicate using a whistling language:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/18/whistle.language.ap/
Island of Dogs
The notorious Presa Canario originated on the Canary Islands, which got the name after the dog, not a famous bird. In fact, the word "cane" gave rise to the island name. The island was referred to as "the Island of Dogs."
This is the dog the Spaniards trained as wardogs to help them in their conquest of the New World. Many were the Indians who were disemboweled by the huge "pitbulls on steroids". This is also the breed that gained recent notoriety for ripping the throat of a San Francisco lesbian.
http://www.presa-canario-canary-dogs.com/