Learning about Latte at Ritidian

In the eastern portion of the Ritidian Unit of Guam National Wildlife Refuge, students from University of Guam learned and applied skills of site identification, mapping, recording, excavation, and data analysis at a latte set. This particular latte set was the largest and best preserved of several in the vicinity, distributed parallel with the rocky coastline about 4-9 m elevation. A fragment of porcelain ceramic indicated that the site was inhabited during the late A.D. 1600s, consistent with the timing of Spanish-era forced re-location of the local population. The associated cultural deposit mostly was surface-visible, although small quantities of artefacts and midden extended downward in the thin layer of 30 cm of sandy silt over the limestone bedrock. The spatial distribution of artefacts revealed very little or no material within the footprints of latte structure, compared to higher concentrations externally.