Sea-Lanes of Antiquity

Canoe Voyaging in the Mariana Islands

By Dr. Eric Metzgar, Independent Researcher

Abstract

This paper examines the ethnohistorical evidence of canoe voyaging in the Marianas archipelago by Chamorros and Carolinians. Information regarding pre-contact as well as Spanish era voyaging events between the islands are drawn from both historical records and ethnographic data. The evidence supports the view that Chamorros were capable of voyaging throughout the Marianas chain and that Carolinians were voyaging in the Mariana Islands before the Spanish colonization of Guam.