Latte stones of the Mariana Islands
Piedras latte de las islas Marianas
- Date
- c. 900-1700 · confidence medium
- Place
- House of Taga, Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, United States
- Credited to
- Chamorro people
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Limestone pillars topped by a hemispherical cap that supported raised houses of the Chamorro elite. The largest, such as those of the House of Taga on Tinian, are about 5 m tall.
The pillars were quarried and erected without metal. The exact purpose of each group (dwelling, ritual or burial) is still studied.
What it led to
- monumental architecture of pre-Hispanic Marianas
- a symbol of Chamorro identity in Guam and the Marianas
- an archaeological marker of the Latte Period (c. 900-1700)