When were the Mariana Islands probably settled?

The Mariana Islands were likely settled by people originating from insular Southeast Asia—specifically areas corresponding to modern-day Indonesia and the Philippines—around 1600 BCE.12

While the broader region of Micronesia saw initial settlement between 3,500 and 2,000 years ago, the migration to the Marianas is considered distinct from the movements associated with the Lapita pottery tradition found elsewhere in the Pacific. Archaeological evidence, such as the discovery of red-slipped pottery at sites like Chalan Piao on Saipan, supports these links to Southeast Asian origins.234