What are Latte Stones?

Many think they know about Latte Stones but most do not truly know
their purpose and/or significance. The notion that they function as stilts
for the ancient dwellings is pure speculation at best. Latte stones vary in
size but not in shape. Their shapes resemble that of Stonehenge in the
British Isles although smaller. Lattes stand as tall as 12 feet and as small
as 3 feet.

These famous stones exist in the Marianas Islands. The larger Lattes stones are in
the island of Rota, an island 60 miles north of Guam. Whether this has any significance
is still unknown because size has not been attributed to anything other than belonging
to larger dwellings (assuming, of course, one believes the stones were used as stilts for
the dwellings).

Dr. Sanchez, in collaboration with Mr. Paul Corano, wrote a wonderful book on the history
of Guam. We should be proud of the endeavor and the product. I thoroughly enjoy reading
it. It put me in touch with my heritage.

Aside from the excellent content of the book, reservations about some of the explanations given on the purpose and significance of the stones do exist. It appears that explanations were not given enough research to justify comments made.

The idea that these stones were used as stilts (haligis) for ancient dwellings have yet to be proven. It seems unlikely that people would build their dwelling atop these stones whose "tasa" was not firmly fixed on its "haligi." A slight earthquake or a strong storm would
easily topple the dwelling. A reasonable man would not subject his family to a precarious predicament. One would be a fool to think it safe to dwell in such an unstable structure. It
is even more foolish to accept, without question, the views of historians who readily accept unsubstantiated facts of these findings.

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