Clues to an Ancient Past

For years, archaeologists working across the Marianas have pieced together fragments of a settlement history stretching back thousands of years before first contact with Europeans.

As a reporter covering these digs, I watched teams sift through coral rubble and volcanic soil for pottery shards, latte stone bases, and burial sites that reframe how long people have called these islands home.

Every new find complicates the old story a little more — and that, more than any single artifact, is what keeps me coming back to this beat.