51 hours travelling, a 1 day-visit to Guam, 30 minutes flight on a twin-engine Piper PA-31-350
Chieftain aircraft operated by Star Marianas, and we are on Rota for a second field season, in
July and August 2024.
This is the first field campaign funded by the National Geographic grant (PI María Cruz Berrocal). We will continue our comprehensive archaeological survey on the island, emphasizing forested areas.
This is our sample for this year, planned by Jesús García Sánchez and María Cruz Berrocal:
The sample is overly ambitious. We use it as a guide to move in the field, especially in areas which are devoided of any recorded archaeological remains, and of which we do not have any previous acquaintance. This random sampling is combined with selective sampling of sites where local people know of archaeological remains on the surface.
For example, we located archaeological remains on Mua’s area in 2022, through random sampling. This year, we returned to the site and assessed the large extension of pottery on the surface, and combined this survey with selective survey in As Saip area, where pottery had been spotted by our collaborator, James Bamba.
Rota is a relatively large island. This type of survey allows us to understand the history different topographies and ecological niches of the island through the archaeological material and the vegetation we encounter.