Judith Amesbury, an archaeologist who has dedicated more than 40 years of her life studying ancient CHamorus and others in the region, has been given the highest honor that can be given to a non-CHamoru.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on March 14 bestowed the Ancient Order of Chamorri award to Amesbury, who has published a lot of information about ancient CHamoru life through her research.
The presentation was held at Adelup.
Amesbury was one of the four founders and directors of the Micronesia Archaeological Research Services, MARS, in 1992. It’s a non-profit, scientific, and educational corporation committed to researching archaeology and indigenous cultures in the Western Pacific. She served as the director of MARS for 30 years.
Her area of expertise centered around marine resource use and has contributed to the knowledge of pelagic fishing and mollusk collecting by ancient CHamorus.
In her article, “Pelagic Fishing in Prehistoric Guam, Mariana Islands,” Amesbury extensively researched several archaeological sites on Guam to uncover the island’s ancient pelagic fishing practices and historical fishing gear.
The governor said she honors and respects archaeologists like Amesbury who provide people information about their history and her work has been impactful for Guam.
“It’s very important to know our history. It’s very important that we go back and get information from where we have been, how we came here and archaeology gives us that data and information,” Leon Guerrero said.
The governor said Guam’s indigenous culture is “very wealthy,” and a lot of information can be found in the land. Some of the shells Amesbury has analyzed go back thousands of years.
“You can learn something about our culture and our people,” she said. “We always want to know who we are and where we came from.”
And the more information is gathered, the more we can learn about ourselves, she said.
“We are more informed because of the work you have done,” Leon Guerrero told Amesbury at the ceremony.
The governor said she’s happy to honor Amesbury for all the decades of hard work she has done for the CHamoru people, and wished her the best of luck in her move to Arizona.
Amesbury also served on several committees of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council for 20 years, including the Scientific and Statistical Committee for 10 years.
She authored or co-authored more than 100 technical reports about archaeological projects on Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. She researched shell ornaments and wrote the popular educational booklet, “Who Wears the Beads?”
She has given presentations on local, regional, and international stages in areas such as Palau, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and Korea, and has communicated her work through various media such as booklets, websites and film.
The award stated that Amesbury’s unwavering commitment to the fields of anthropology and archaeology on Guam and in the Western Pacific over 40 years has not only contributed to a more thorough understanding of the past and given further context to the island’s rich history, but also has extensively integrated CHamoru history and cultural practices in contemporary academia.
It said her service in anthropology and archaeology has made an indelible mark in researching Guam’s past.
Amesbury said she loves Guam and she will be sad to leave the island. She said it will be hard to leave people who have become like her family, but she is going back to Arizona to spend time with her family who hasn’t lived here for many years.
She said she wished she didn’t have to leave, and the governor invited her to come to Guam anytime since she has many friends that are still here.
(3) comments
It is important to know your history and to know who you are as a people. That goes without saying. But aren't people always a little more fascinated with the future, the unknown, and new places and people? Sure they are because that is more exciting than the past, just like new boyfriends or girlfriends hold more possibilities. Otherwise, why would the Maga' Haga marry a Alan Jeffrey Cook? Why would her arch-nemesis Sen. Telo T. Taitague, the local version of MAGA MTG, also marry a white guy? Isn't a Sen. Jesse Anderson Lujan good enough? Short answer. No. Not good enough to marry Sen. Telo and not good enough even to become Speaker. Like Sen. Joe SSA. "The dark uncle," as it were, from Inarajan, a phrase coined by Rick Nauta during his brief tenure at K57, will be hard-pressed to get a fair shake.
(I outlasted Patti Arroyo, dear Travis, my friend Ray Gibson, my buddy Phill and Rick Nauta. The local Republican Party faithful ought to help finance Trump. Even the bonding company is dubious. Put your money where your mouths are. Watch your wealth disappear. Ditto America's. That is the grim future.)
I meant to say Sen. Telo is of mixed heritage. Don't know who is the father of her children. Happy belated Easter to everyone.
Mathew, I usually enjoy your posts, but this one goes off track. Way off track. Not everything is about politics and trumpy.
This article is about Judith Amesbury and her lifetime of work adding to the historical record of the peoples of the Western Pacific. I recommend you take advantage of her published works and learn a few things...
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.