This site consists of the remains of a 40-year old female. Located around the area of her throat were remnants of a shell necklace consisting of ten spondylus beads (in Plate 13-4, e), ranging in the size of 7.5mm to 12.1mm. The spondylus beads were described as having a white or cream-colored interior with exterior layers that are pink to reddish in color.
What was also interesting about this burial site was that they found a small spherical metal object, later identified as a brass flushloop bell, near her ilium bone (hip). This suggests that the item was attached to a belt or other garment worn around the waist. Because of the metal object, the theory is that this burial occurred sometime between 1668 to 1730* (early History Period).
While most of the CHamoru people residing in the islands north of Rota were force relocated (Reduccion) to Guam in the 1690s, some sources suggest that there were some mission villages in Sa’ipan through the 1730s.
Brian M. Butler.1995. Archeological Investigations in the Achugao and Matansa Areas of Saipan, Mariana Islands.
