• CHamorus/Chamorros used fire to quarry latte stones in an area with faultless limestone. The firewood is laid in the shape of the tasa (capstone) and haligi (pillar). Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
  • Figure 2. A rope making machine was owned by most families to turn green coconut husk fibers into cordage. Guam Museum/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • A hypothesized means of transporting the haligi from the quarry is the bipod lever. The bipod lever is made of lashing two wooden poles, pointing them away from the latte, and pulling. Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
  • CHamorus/Chamorros may have scooted and pulled the largest tasa up an earthen ramp to finally rest on the top of the haligi. Image provided by Lawrence J. Cunningham with Bess Press, Inc. from the publication Ancient Chamorro (CHamoru) Society. Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
  • Quarrymen use a system of levers to lift the tasa from the quarry pit. Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
  • Ancient CHamoru/Chamorro quarry men chipped limestone with basalt adzes and axes, they removed the rubble by hand or wooden shovels. Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
  • Ancient CHamorus/Chamorros may have used a pole frame secured with rope to place the tasa on the haligi. Image provided by Lawrence J. Cunningham with Bess Press, Inc. from the publication Ancient Chamorro (CHamoru) Society. Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc
  • The latte stones are placed in two parallel rows and the wooden A-frame is constructed. Alejandro Lizama/Bess Press, Inc.
  • This megaliths, known as latte, dominant the archaeological landscape of the Mariana Islands. Latte were set in two parallel rows. William N. Morgan/Bess Press, Inc.
  • In the southern village of Hågat/Agat, along the west coast of Guam, the Taelayag Spanish bridge was constructed in the 19th century. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • The earliest de silleria building in Guam was the 1709 Dulce Nombre de Maria Church in Hagåtña. Louis Choris/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • The double arched Taleyfac Spanish bridge can be seen on the ocean side just past Nimitz Beach in Hågat/Agat. It was constructed in the late 19th century. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • The San Antonio Bridge or Tollai Acho (stone bridge) is the only remaining Spanish-era bridge in the island’s capital of Hagåtña. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 9. Assembling. The roofers cover the wooden frame with the tightly woven pupong (woven ridge). Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC)/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 13. Pole and thatch homes were common in Guam prior to World War II. Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC)/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 8. Assembling. The balanggai (thatching party) was a major festive social event that brought friends and family to the house for roofing and for the obligatory feast. Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC)/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 1. Julian R. Cruz's sketch was adapted from George Fritz's illustration of the typical pole and thatch home with a skeletal view of the frame. Julian R. Cruz/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 7. The Flying Gallery at the Government House In Humåtak/Umatac, Guam. J.B. Jones/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 6. A Spanish colonial style house sketched by J.B. Jones, FAIA, Ruth, 1977. J.B. Jones, FAIA and Ruth/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 4. Lt. William Edwin Safford bought this mamposteria house in Hagatña on Sept. 4, 1899. The batalan connected the main house and the outdoor kitchen. Pam Cunningham Earley drew this illustration from a Safford photograph. Pam Cunningham/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 8. A balustrade usually surrounded the balcony in mamposteria structures. J.B. Jones/Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 1. The plaster has weathered away from the mamposteria oridinaria, stone and mortar construction, walls of Fuerte de Santa Agueda (Fort Apugan), in Agana Heights, Guam. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 5. A mason working on the batalan, a terrace, at Fort Soledad, Humåtak/Umatac. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 2. The mamposteria, stone and mortar construction, walls of Fort Soledad in Humåtak/Umatac, Guam during it's 1995 reconstruction. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Figure 3. The ladriyu is an unglazed clay tile or flat brick used for a variety of construction purposes. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • The Spanish Bridge at Sella Bay is located in an isolated area on the southwest coast of Guam south of Hågat/Agat. Lawrence J. Cunningham
  • Seagrass rope photo courtesy of Cheryl N. Cunningham.
  • CHamoru Directional Terminology. Dr. Lawrence Cunningham collection
  • CHamoru Directional Terminology. Dr. Lawrence Cunningham collection
  • Figure 12 Assembling. Nette thatch. L. Cunningham
  • Figure 11 Weaving. Daniel Pangelinan re-sews a dried Tågon Nipa. L. Cunningham
  • Figure 10 Thatched Roof. Tokcha’ hold Pupong. L. Cunningham
  • Figure 7. Poles. Tieres and Dotmiente Joint. Julian R. Cruz. Adapted from Hornbostel, 1922-26.
  • Figure 6 Thatched Pattern. Section of a Sagualis or Dindines Woven from Karisu. Julian R. Cruz.
  • Figure 5. Home. Damaged Tabique Wall. MARC.
  • Figure 4. Pole and Thatch illustration Horkon-Suleras Joint by Pamela Cunningham Earley. Adopted from Fritz, 1904, Figure 1.
  • Figure 3. Poles Haligi-Dotmiente Joint by Pamela Cunningham Earley. Adopted from Fritz, 1904, Figure 1.
  • Carlton Skinner, Governor of Guam from 1949 – 1953, gave a speech in Guam in 2000 on the 50th anniversary of the signing of Guam's Organic Act. He is shown here with his second wife, Solange Petit. Photo by Dr. Lawrence Cunningham, courtesy of the Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC).
  • Squid drawn with charcoal on white limestone walls of the Chugai cave in Rota. Courtesy of L. Cunningham. L. Cunningham/Judy Flores

Note: Collection provided Dr. Cunningham to accompany relevant entries. If you wish to use content from this collection for commercial use, publication, or any purpose other than fair use as defined by law, you must request and receive written permission from Dr. Lawrence Cunningham.