Preliminary Archaeobotanical Investigations at the Taipingot Site, Rota Island (CNMI)

Céline Kerfant1*, Maria Martin-Seijo2, Alexandre Chevalier3, Adrian Garcia-Rojo2, Alvaro Moreno Jimenez2, and Maria Cruz-Berrocal2

The Taipingot site, a rock shelter located in the Taipingot peninsula in southern Rota Island (Luta), Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, has been excavated by the Incipit since 2022 in two seasons, offering unique evidence of habitation and burial in a long historical sequence dating from around AD 1000 and extending stratigraphically deeper. This contribution presents preliminary results from microarchaeobotanical analyses on plant, pottery and shell artefacts recovered during the excavation. Laboratory work was conducted at INCIPIT (Santiago de Compostela) in January 2026, where a set of samples were examined using light microscopy and digital imaging. Analyses aimed to detect and identify plant residues and impressions preserved on artefacts. On pottery from SU204 and SU283, seed impressions and charred remains were observed. One complete micro seed shows tentative morphological affinities with Dodonaea sp., while other impressions resemble Fabaceae pods, potentially Vigna marina. A fragment of monocot leaf epidermis, possibly palm-related, was also identified. Associated residues may represent lipid deposits suitable for future biochemical analysis. Shell artefacts (SU06022 and SU06022) exhibited adhering residues and wear traces consistent with plant processing or food preparation. One specimen also yielded a seed remain and micro-beads resembling small natural pearls. These initial results suggest the combined use of pottery and shells in culinary or processing activities, linked to ancient prehistoric practices, unrecorded so far in the Northern Mariana Islands. Ongoing collaboration with specialists will refine interpretation, while further imaging protocols and chemical analyses will help clarify the nature and function of these remains.