This is described within the broader themes of architecture, chronology, environment, material culture, settlement pattern, social organization, and subsistence.
As information allows, each island or group is considered on an individual basis in order to allow for each specific island context to be assessed. Of equal interest is the settlement of atolls and their recently recognized potential for preservation of stratified deposits. While Nan Madol and Leluh in the eastern Carolines are major architectural achievements, a discussion of these sites does not detract, for example, from the terrace systems of Palau or the latte stone groups of the southern Marianas.
The archaeological remains reveal diverse approaches to island living. The earliest identified settlement is in the Marianas, dated to about 3500 B.P., while the other islands in the region appear to be settled from about 2000 B.P.
