Latte - Symbol of Chamorro Culture

Today, the enduring latte are found in coastal areas and in river valleys.  The latte are the prominent remnants of the earlier Chamorro culture of the Mariana Islands.

Each latte is comprised of two stones.  The shaft stone placed on the ground is the haligi, and the cap stone is the tasa.  The latte were placed in parallel rows, consisting of three to seven latte per row.  Latte vary in height from less than one meter to six meters, which are at the House of Taga on Tinian.

The latte were constructed by the Chamorros, from 1100 to 1700 A.D.  Principally found on the islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, latte were used as the foundations of important structures in Chamorro villages.  Their use in the Chamorro culture vanished when the Spanish devastated the islands in the 1600s.

These latte, relocated in 1956, are from the former village of Mepo in the Fena Valley of the current Ordinance Annex, U.S. Naval Activities, Guam.  The village site was destroyed by military construction after World War II.

Latte Mepo Reconstructed

The latte site is a classic example of the archeological ruins found only on Guam and the other islands of the Marianas.  They are of such antiquity that their purpose was not known to the inhabitants of Guam at the time of Magellan's visit.  These ancient monuments are part of the twelve stone latte Mepo located near Fena River.  During post World War II construction the original site was destroyed, but these light pairs of stones were saved and erected on this site during 1955 and 1956 in accordance with a sketch drawn in the third decade of this century.