Editing History of Guam (section)

===Ancient Chamoru society===
[[File:Ancient Chamorro Society - Pellion - .jpg|thumb|1819 illustration depicting the three Chamoru castes]]
Most of what is known about Pre-Contact ("Ancient") Chamorus comes from legends and myths, archaeological evidence, [[Jesuit]] [[missionary]] accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like [[Otto von Kotzebue]] and [[Louis de Freycinet]].

When Europeans first arrived on Guam, Chamoru society roughly fell into three classes: ''matao'' (upper class), ''achaot'' (middle class), and ''mana'chang'' (lower class). The matao lived in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds while the mana'chang lived in the interior of the island. Matao and mana'chang rarely communicated with each other, and matao often used achaot as a go-between.

There were also "makhanas" (shamans) and "suruhanus" (herb doctors), skilled in healing and medicine.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9r0a2ww8KLcC&pg=PA101|title=Ancient Chamorro Society|last=Cunningham|first=Lawrence J.|date=1992-01-01|publisher=Bess Press|isbn=9781880188057|language=en}}</ref> Belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called ''[[Taotao Mona]]'' still persists as remnant of pre-European society. Early European explorers noted the [[sakman]], the Chamoru fast sailing vessel used for trading with other islands of Micronesia.