Lithic technology

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Given the lack of metalliferous minerals on the islands, some of the tools used by the ancient Canarians were made of stone. The coarse-grained volcanic rocks (trachytic basalts, cavernous basalts, phonolites, etc) and volcanic glass (obsidian)  displayed in this room illustrate the main raw materials the prehispanic Canarians made use of when crafting these tools. In the case of volcanic rocks, their abundance and widespread availability meant that they  were easily found in the proximity of settlements, but sources of volcanic glass were few and confined to very specific areas, which suggests that there was an island-wide network of distribution for it.
 
The stone flakes, scrapers, axes and picks displayed in this room illustrate the importance of lithic technology in the many fields of activity the ancient Canarians engaged in, such as butchery, pottery, tanning, woodwork, cave digging, etc.  There are also mills and mortars on display, used mainly in the processing of cereals for their consumption as flour. The circular tuffaceous mill stones  were made from blocks extracted from quarries located at different points on the island; as was the case with the extraction of obsidian, successful quarry work required some specific technical skills, which leads us to believe this work was the responsibility  of specialized individuals or groups.