Exploring the risks accompanying child-bearing in aboriginal society on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, 13-15 cal. CE): death of a pregnant woman during her third trimester.

In the pre-Hispanic necropolis of Juan Primo, northwest Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) a grave was found containing a 20-25 year-old woman with a foetus in her abdominal region, whose age at death was estimated at 33-35 weeks of gestation. The purpose of this study is to discuss the possible cause of death of the woman and foetus. Skeletons of both individuals were well preserved, permitting a good record of the bones found in the burial, which is compatible with a pregnancy at preterm.