Men of the Old Stone Age: Their Environment, Life and Art

by Henry Fairfield Osborn

The following excerpts are quoted from the account given by the distinguished anthropologist, Dr. René Verneau, of his observations during a five years' residence in the Canary Islands.

Page 22.

"Without doubt the race that has played the most important rôle in the Canaries is the Guanche. They were settled in all the islands, and in Teneriffe they preserved their distinctive characteristics and customs until the conquest by Spain in the fifteenth century.

"The Guanches, who at that time were described as giants, were of great stature. The minimum measure of the men was 1.70 m. (5 ft. 7 in.).

"I myself met a number of men in the various islands who measured over 1.80 m. (5 ft. 11 in.). Some attained a height of 2 m. (6 ft. 6½ in.). At Fortaventure the average height of the men was 1.84 m. (6 ft. ³⁄10 in.), perhaps the greatest known in any people.

"It is a curious fact that the women who gave birth to such men were comparatively small—I observed a difference of about 20 cm. (8 in.) in the heights of the two sexes.

"Their skin was light colored—if we may believe the poet Viana—and sometimes even absolutely white. Dacil, the daughter of the last Guanche chief of Teneriffe, the valiant Bencomo, who struggled so heroically for the independence of his country, had a very white complexion and her face was quite freckled. The hair of the true Guanche should be blond or light chestnut, and the eyes blue.

"The most striking characteristic of the Guanche race was the shape of the head and the features of the face. The long skull gave shape to a beautiful forehead, well developed in every way. Behind, above the occipital, one notices a large plane contrasting strongly with the marked prominence of the occipital itself. In addition, the parietal eminences, placed very high and very distinct from each other, combined to give the head a pentagonal form."

Page 29.

"The Guanche chiefs were much respected. At Teneriffe the coronation of the chief took place in an enclosure surrounded with stones (the Togaror), in the presence of nobles and people. One of his nearest kinsmen brought him the insignia of power. According to Viera y Clavijo, this was the humerus of one of his ancestors, carefully preserved in a case of leather; according to Viana, it was the skull of one of his predecessors.