Latte Quarry at As Nieves National Historic Landmark Nomination
Tomonari-Tuggle M. 2024. Latte Quarry at As Nieves National Historic Landmark Nomination. National Historic Landmark Nominations. 74002225_NHL. National Park Service. Washington, DC
This document is the National Historic Landmark (NHL) nomination for the Latte Quarry at As Nieves in Rota Municipality, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The NHL nomination for the Latte Quarry at As Nieves documents national significance under NHL Criterion 4 as an outstanding example of latte elements and latte quarries in the Marianas. Latte quarries are intimately reflective of a particularly patterned process of site choice and preparation, followed by a well-defined process of extraction leading to the use of removed materials expressly for a specific architectural purpose. Within the inventory of known latte quarry sites, the Latte Quarry at As Nieves is of invaluable significance to convey aspects of the style and methods of construction of the little understood built environment of the Latte period (approximately AD 1000-late AD 1600s). Latte are the signature markers of the Latte Period in Marianas prehistory (including the Late Latte Period following initial Western contact in AD 1561), and the Latte Quarry at As Nieves contains uniquely massive elements that are the largest that have been recorded. Under Criterion 6, the Latte Quarry at As Nieves is nationally significant for its potential to contribute to a better understanding of the archeological and cultural history of the Latte Period of the Mariana Archipelago. The site is an almost complete set of latte forms remaining in situ in their quarry pits, and thus offers the opportunity to address numerous substantive and methodological questions related to the structure and use of quarries. From a cultural-historical perspective, further study of the Latte Quarry can look at its association with the mytho-historical figure, the chief Taga, and with historically collected place names (of which As Nieves is one) as they reflect cultural identification of traditional places.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Tomonari-Tuggle, Myra
- Date of Issue
- 2024-09-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Keywords
- Chamorro, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Latte Period, National Historic Landmark, Pacific Islander, Quarry, Rota