Chalan Piao, Saipan

15.1422°N 145.7008°E / 15.1422; 145.7008

Chalan Piao
Village
Chalan Piao
Coordinates: 15°8′31.92″N 145°42′2.88″E
Country	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Island	Saipan

Chalan Piao is a village on the southwestern area of Saipan. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It is bordered on the north by Chalan Kanoa, on the east by As Perdido village and on the south by San Antonio village. To the west is the Pacific Ocean.

"Chalan Piao" translated from the Chamorro language means bamboo road. Chalan means road and piao means bamboo. The Chamorro language is spoken by the indigenous inhabitants of Saipan and the rest of the Mariana Islands, mainly Rota/Luta, Tinian and Guahan/Guam.

History

Chalan Piao likely started as a marine embayment and then became a sandy beach with a brackish marsh. It is one of the earliest human settlements in the Marianas, being occupied c. 1731–1226 BC.^[1] Archaeological evidence from this period include redware pottery with lime-filled decorations.^[2]

Education

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System operates local public schools. Hopwood Junior High School is located in Chalan Piao.^[3]

References

1. Amesbury, J.R.; Moore, D.R.; Hunter-Anderson, R.L. (1996). "Cultural adaptations and late Holocene sea level change in the Marianas: recent excavations at Chalan Piao, Saipan, Micronesia". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 15: 53–69. doi:10.7152/bippa.v15i0.11534 (inactive 22 December 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2024 (link)
2. Carson, Mike T. (July 13, 2013). First Settlement of Remote Oceania: Earliest Sites in the Mariana Islands. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-319-01047-2.
3. "CNMI PUBLIC SCHOOLS." Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System. February 24, 2008. Retrieved on January 1, 2018.