On Monday, December 3, at 11:30 h., The Canary Museum hosts the presentation of the Humiaga 977 Project (HUman Investigation And Genetic Analysis 977). This project, led by Tibicena Archaeology and Patrimonio S.L. and by The Canary Museum, has the funding of the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands, and has as its dual objective to reconstruct in 3D the face of the woman whose skull is inventoried in the museum of Vegueta with the number 977, and at the same time make visible the role of women in the Aboriginal past, inserting it into a significant historical and cultural space as was La Fortaleza.
The skull 977 was recovered from the top of The Fortress Grande by Victor Grau Bassas, first curator of The Canary Museum. It belonged to a woman who died at the end of the V-VI century, thus being one of the oldest dated burials in Gran Canaria. This deposit can be linked to the buildings that are located at the top, built during the VI-VII centuries, which Victor Grau Bassas was to identify as a large temple or almogarén and which today relate to Humiaga, one of the two great sacred places of the pre-Hispanic Gran Canaria.
The Humiaga 977 Project, which combines scientific work with the informative vocation, was initiated with a microscanning of the skull by Tibicena for its 3D modeling and the subsequent realization of the face by the company specialized in virtual reconstructions PAR Archaeology and Heritage. In parallel, dr. Teresa Delgado Darias, curator of The Canary Museum, carried out a bioanthropological study that allowed to know aspects such as dental health or the existence of trauma, data that allow to contextualize the woman portrayed in a specific cultural and historical moment. In addition, a set of genetic samples of this skull and others from Guayadeque and La Guancha allowed Dr. Rosa Fregel, of the University of La Laguna, make an estimate on the phenotypic aspects (skin color, eyes and hair), thus completing the necessary information for the reconstruction of her facial appearance.
After the facial reconstruction of the skull 977 a social and gender history can be recognized by issues such as who this woman was, what may have been the origin of the wound on her head, why she was buried at the top of The Fortress or how she was able to dress. In this way, thanks to Project Humiaga 977 society can approach the island past as objectively as possible, avoiding racial idealizations or false historical recreations.
The presentation includes Miguel Angel Clavijo, Director General of Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands; Diego López Díaz, president of El Museo Canario; Marco Moreno, director of Tibicena Archaeology and Heritage; Teresa Delgado Darias, curator of The Canary Museum; and Pablo Aparicio, PAR Archaeology and Heritage.