New clues into how North African cultures adapted to ocean living

 

Canary Island relics offer new clues into how North African cultures adapted to ocean living

By the 11th century, fish and shellfish harvests may have been a key part of a complex local economy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

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Location of Playa Chica on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. a) position of the Canary Islands in Northwestern Africa; b) setting of Gran Canaria within the Canarian archipelago; c) place of Playa Chica in northwestern Gran Canaria and other sites cited within the text; d) general view of the site prior to archaeological intervention indicating Zone 1 and Zone 2. Large volcanic tuff blocks, detached from the cliff face, are visible across the area; e) western section of the site showing Zone 1 and the stone structure separating it from Zone 2.

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Credit: Santana et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Archaeological evidence from the Canary Islands suggests that by the 11th century, people here were harvesting and processing a variety of fish and other marine organisms — indicating that coastal resources may have played a vital role in the economic system, according to a study published June 10, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS One by Jonathan Santana from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and colleagues.

The Atlantic archipelago was colonized by Berber populations during the late Holocene. The Canary Islands, which were inhabited by people originally from Berber-speaking areas in northwestern Africa beginning in the 1st century, provide critical comparative data for insight into the development of coastal economies in Africa, a region where maritime adaptations remain relatively understudied.

The researchers studied samples from Playa Chica, an archaeological site along the coast of the island of Gran Canaria, dating back between the 11th and 13th centuries. They found fish scales on site, as well as goat horns that they believe were used as tools to scale fish — evidence that this site may have been used for processing harvests from the sea. In addition, the team found remnants of plant material that produces a lot of smoke when burned, such as pine cones, which suggests that fish might have been smoked or dried for preservation.

Most of the fish remains came from near-shore species, suggesting that fishing was mostly done close to land. Based on the species present and the discovery of fishhooks made out of pig tusks, the researchers say that it’s likely that people here used both net and line fishing.

Limited data from earlier phases at Playa Chica, and the scarcity of excavated coastal sites across the archipelago, render these conclusions preliminary. Nevertheless, the study indicates that Playa Chica may have been a central site for supplying seafood to the broader island community. This aligns with the development of mature island economies — and these findings help paint a rich picture of the historical and still largely mysterious coastal cultures of northwestern Africa. Future research should prioritize the excavation and sampling of additional coastal areas for comparable patterns of marine exploitation.

Dr. Jonathan Santana, lead author of the study, adds: “What makes Playa Chica exceptional is that we are not simply looking at a place where people occasionally ate fish and shellfish. The concentration of specialized fishing tools, the thousands of fish scales, the abundance of hearths and the near-absence of domestic pottery all point to a space dedicated to capturing, processing and preserving marine food. For the first time we can see, at this level of detail, how the Indigenous communities of the Canary Islands organized their relationship with the sea, and understand the coast not as a last resort, but as a central part of their economy and their way of life.”

Dr. Jacob Morales, archaeobotanist and co-author, adds: “The plant remains tell a very particular story. Rather than the pine wood normally used for cooking and heating across the island, the people here deliberately gathered plants that smoke heavily at low temperatures. Burning them over shallow fires would have slowly dried and lightly smoked the fish, reducing its moisture and its spoilage so that it could be stored or exchanged with inland communities. It is, in essence, an early form of food preservation captured in the archaeological record.”

  The freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/4v1ZV0w

Citation: Santana J, Morales J, Gilson S-P, Brito-Mayor A, González-Ruiz MdC, Vidal-Matutano P, et al. (2026) Specialized marine exploitation on African islands: A multiproxy archaeological analysis of the Playa Chica site, Gran Canaria (11th–13th CE). PLoS One 21(6): e0349347. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349347