The Unai Obyan Latte Site is a prehistoric

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

on the island of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

in the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

. Located near Obyan Beach on the south coast of the island, it is the site of what was once a fairly extensive village, which was significantly disturbed by Japanese defensive preparations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The site includes the fragmentary remains of a single

latte stone A latte stone, or simply latte (also latde, latti, or latdi), is a Column, pillar () capped by a Sphere, hemispherical stone capital (architecture), capital () with the flat side facing up. Used as building supports by the ancient Chamorro peopl ...

house site and a wide scattering of surface-level remains. Excavation of the latte house site in the 1940s by the pioneering archeologist

Alexander Spoehr Alexander Spoehr (August 23, 1913 – June 11, 1992) was an American anthropologist who served as president of the American Anthropological Association in 1965. Spoehr was born in Tucson, Arizona on August 23, 1913, to parents Herman Augustus Sp ...

yielded evidence of a length period of occupation. The village at Obyan was documented in early Spanish accounts of the island, and was probably abandoned when the Spanish forcibly relocated the entire island population to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

in 1698. The site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985.

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Northern Mariana Islands Buildings and structures completed in 1698 Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 1698 establishments in the Spanish Empire {{NorthernMarianaIslands-NRHP-stub

See also

References