Zona Arqueológica Poblado de La Atalayita

The town of the Atalayita is located in Antigua on the island of Fuerteventura. This archaeological zone is within the Pozo Negro Valley and has an important value due to the fact that in this village the first aboriginal inhabitants of Fuerteventura settled down and who had the name of Mahos centuries ago.

The town of the Atalayita occupies a size of around 45,000 square meters formed by some 115 structures of different types. On the one hand there are the deconstructions of dry stone, these are small and their shape is frustoconical circular or elliptical plant with a low height. In second place are other major buildings, they are also dry stone but the plant is a little more complex than the others, are divided in the interior by stone walls, these buildings were roofed by vegetables that logically are not preserved.

In addition to these constructions, the Atalayita Village and its surroundings offer a lot of archaeological material that further enhances the importance of the old settlement, fundamentally you can see ceramic fragments of pieces aborigines, bone remains, tools or tools among others.

The Atalayita receives this name because there is a promontory, which is an elevation of the land that allowed to watch from a height the spot and thus alert of possible dangers. The town of Atalayita was originally intended for free grazing of animals, some of the aboriginal settlements remained for some generations in was used as a refuge against possible attacks.

Los Mahos had a lifestyle that took place in the open air, but here they built these buildings to shelter livestock and shelter at night to avoid inclement weather although it is also believed that it was used as a hiding place against possible attacks.