Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also Province of Santa Cruz, is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago: the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma. It occupies an area of 3,381 km2 (1,305 sq mi). It also includes a series of adjacent roques.
The Guanche were the indigenous inhabitants of the Spanish Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kilometres (60 mi) to the west of modern Morocco and the North African coast. The islanders spoke the Guanche language, which is believed to have been related to the Berber languages of mainland North Africa; the language became extinct in the 17th century, soon after the islands were colonized.
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 42.9% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2,034.38 square kilometres (785.48 sq mi) and a population of 948,815 inhabitants as of January 2023, it is also the most populous island of Spain and of Macaronesia.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its administrative limits. The urban zone of Santa Cruz extends beyond the city limits with a population of 507,306 and 538,000 within urban area. It is the second largest city in the Canary Islands and the main city on the island of Tenerife, with nearly half of the island's population living in or around it.
The First Battle of Acentejo took place on the island of Tenerife between the Guanches and an alliance of Spaniards, other Europeans, and associated natives, on 31 May 1494, during the Spanish conquest of this island. It resulted in a victory for the Guanches of Tenerife.
Güímar is the name of a municipality, town and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province). The municipality extends for 102.9 square kilometers from the mountainous interior to the beaches on the Atlantic, and borders the municipalities of La Orotava, Arafo and Fasnia. Its estimated population is 18,589 (2013). The TF-1 motorway passes through the municipality.
Candelaria, also Villa Mariana de Candelaria, is a municipality and city in the eastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is located on the coast, 17 km southwest of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The population is 25,140 (2010), and the area is 49.18 km².
San Andrés is a village located on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain). It is located on the coast, at the foot of the Anaga mountains, 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the capital city Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is administratively part of the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. San Andrés is one of the oldest villages of Canary Islands, and was founded around 1498.
The Canary Islands have been known since antiquity. Until the Spanish colonization between 1402 and 1496, the Canaries were populated by an indigenous population, whose origin was Amazigh from North Africa.
Museo de la Naturaleza y Arqueología (MUNA), is a museum-based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife,. It contains many significant archaeological finds and is considered the best repository of objects from the Pre-Castilian Canary Islands. The museum also houses significant paleontological, botanical, entomological, and marine and terrestrial vertebrate collections, and is considered the best Natural Library of the Canary Islands.
The Mummy of San Andrés is a human mummy belonging to the Guanche culture, who were the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, Spain.
Acaimo or Acaymo was a Guanche mencey of Tacoronte, on the island of Tenerife at the time of the Spanish conquest in the 15th century. He formed an alliance against the Spaniards with the mencey Beneharo and the mencey Bencomo.
Guanche mummies are the intentionally desiccated remains of members of the indigenous Guanche people of the Tenerife. The Guanche mummies were made during the eras prior to Spanish settlement of the area in the 15th century. The methods of embalming are similar to those that were used by the Ancient Egyptians, though fewer mummies remain from the Guanche due to looting and desecration.
Guatimac or the Idol of Guatimac is an owl-shaped Guanche cult image, found in 1885, hidden in a cave between the municipalities of Fasnia and Güímar wrapped in goat hide.
Gallotia goliath is an extinct giant lizard species from the island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands, Spain. This reptile lived before the arrival of humans and is believed to have grown to at least 0.9 metres (3.0 ft) long. It was described by the German herpetologist Robert Mertens. Fossils of this lizard have been found in volcanic caves, where they often appear with those of other animals, like the Tenerife giant rat.
Tinerfe "the Great", legendary hero who was a guanche mencey of the island of Tenerife. It is estimated that he lived at the end of the 14th century.
The Barranco de Badajoz or Chamoco is a ravine on the island of Tenerife, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, part of the municipality of Güímar in the southeast of the island.
Guanche mummy of Madrid or Guanche mummy of Barranco de Herques, is a mummy of an ancient Guanche individual, which is now on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Spain in Madrid, Spain. The mummy is a male Guanche in an excellent state of preservation. Is believed to date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD, and belongs to a man between 30 and 34 years and, according to experts, would be the best Guanche preserved mummy in the world. The individual in question, has all his teeth very well preserved, without any wear and tear, has caucasian features and his hands that do not reveal that he had done hard physical work. On the part of the Computerized axial tomography (CT) that was made to this mummy revealed that the viscera were not removed to mummify it and that in fact, it conserves the brain, which contradicts some historical Castilian chronicles that tell how was the mummification process between the Guanches.
The Muisca inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Colombian Andes before the arrival of the Spanish and were an advanced civilisation. They mummified the higher social class members of their society, mainly the zipas, zaques, caciques, priests and their families. The mummies would be placed in caves or in dedicated houses ("mausoleums") and were not buried.
