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Editor's Notes

• #2: The rich history of the Guamanian people is being lost. The potential to for site preservation through public outreach and site identification does not appear to be a thought to present day residents. Ritidian Latte Village and Cave Paintings are prehistoric relics that are being ignored. The lessons that we could learn are being lost.
• #4: Guam is a small island by both population and area and is located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Japan. Chamorro people make up the majority of the present day population, followed by Filipinos. Whites are approximately 7% of the population and they are the majority of the remaining ethnicities (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014). The Ritidian Latte Village is located at the present day Ritidian wildlife preserve and beach. The village is currently hidden amongst dense jungle and is not easily located by tourists (Ridgell, 2014).
• #5: According to investigations conducted by Dr. Mike Carson, the Ritidian site had been inhabited by fishermen approximately 3,300 years ago. The latte village would have been erected a long time after since researchers have determined through carbon dating that larger latte stones were created around 800 AD (Villaverde, n.d.).
• #6: Dr. Mike Carson formerly worked as an assistant professor at the archaeology office of the Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC), University of Guam (UOG), on the island of Guam. He has worked on many projects across the cultural areas of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. He has been the main researcher on the Ritidian project. Dr. Rosina Iping is an astronomer and research scientist at the Catholic University of America (Deutsch, 2005). She studied the cave art in Ritidian.
• #7: Archaeologists examined patterns related to food preparation, tool manufacturing, water and food storage and discarded food remains. Because researchers discovered pieces of metal, Chinese porcelain and European glass beads, scientists believe that the occupants of the latte village had contact with outside cultures. Another artifact that archaeologists located deep in the jungle was the remains of what is believed to be a Spanish Jesuit building (Carson, 2014).
• #8: In 1999, Dr. Iping gained national attention by associating the prehistoric art in the Ritidian caves to the ancient stars. She theorized that the Micronesian people who occupied the unlit caves traced the shadows of the stars in the sky. She based this on the fact that Remmet Teunisse Backer a Dutch Amsterdam cartographer also drew a star chart as a projection in the 18th century. (Villaverde, n.d.) The idea is that the shadow cast on the wall is a reverse image of what one sees by looking at the sky. This would indicate the importance of the stars to the early Micronesians.
• #9: Dr. Carson has confirmed through radiocarbon dating that almost 3,300 years ago the fishing community at Ritidian was established. Currently, the cave art is being digitally mapped and photographed to create a record of it before it disappears forever.
• #10: Beside what is online, there is little to no public outreach for the site. There is one sign for the building foundation, but it does not lead anyone to it. There are also no signs directing visitors to the caves. When this author asked about the latte stones on Ritidian he was directed to the hotels along the Tumon beachfront. Some of the hotels discovered burial grounds as they built and relocated the latte stones to their pool areas for guests and visitors to see. It does not appear that visitors are welcome to archaeological sites around Guam.
• #11: The lack of public outreach does not protect the site. Looters or thieves who find the sight have the ability to take what they want because the rest of the public does not fully understand the value of the items. Furthermore, a fence that was pulled down is the only thing keeping visitors from actually hiking to the caves. Once someone begins the hike, it is approximately a quarter of a mile to the first cave pictured here. This cave contains the picture of the fish. As visitors continue they will hike past an ancient latte stone and finally make it to the Starcave. The Starcave has a net to keep out the invasive mud wasps that build nest on the art. The net does not keep the people out who contribute to the destruction of the paintings and the loss of any remaining artifacts.
• #12: If the site was identifiable and signs indicated the removal of items was a felony, then the community could help preserve the history. An added incentive to get people to report the theft of such artifacts or damage to the site could be a monetary reward.
• #13: The work of Dr. Carson, students and archaeologist has done a lot to show the history or the Ritidian people. Some of the artifacts have been lost throughout time. The concern is that without the full assemblage of artifacts the full identity of the ancient Ritidian people will not be understood. Without the public¡¯s knowledge of what the site has to offer, there will be no disapproval to those who chose to loot from the site. The Guamanian ancestors will be forever left out of the history books.