Archaeology in the Canary Islands during the Franco regime: the original settlement of the Islands as paradigm (1939-1969)

In the present article, we analyze the contributions of the authors linked to the Provincial Commissary for Archaeological Excavations in the Canaries. Their studies led to the development of a nationalist prehistory of these islands. Developed during Franco’s regime, this prehistory was directly influenced by the theoretical, practical and ideological guidelines that gave meaning to the studies of peninsular prehistory at this time. An approach to the topic of the original colonization of the Canary Islands, allows us to highlight the relationship that existed between politics and archaeology, and therefore, between the power and the generation of the scientific knowledge.
Durante el franquismo, la aportación de los distintos autores vinculados con las Comisarías Provinciales de Excavaciones Arqueológicas de Canarias daría pie al desarrollo de una lectura nacionalista de la prehistoria canaria, directamente influenciada por las directrices teóricas, prácticas e ideológicas que por entonces daban sentido a la prehistoria peninsular. Una aproximación al estudio del primitivo poblamiento de las Islas Canarias durante este período nos ha permitido sacar a relucir la estrecha relación que existió entre la política y la arqueología y, por ende, entre el poder y la generación del conocimiento científico.