Palau's early history is still largely veiled in mystery.  Why, how or when people arrived on our beautiful islands is unknown, but studies indicate today's Palauans are distant relatives of the Malays of Indonesia, Melanesians of New Guinea and Polynesians.  As for the date of their arrivals, carbon dating of artifacts from the oldest known village sites on the Rock Islands and the spectacular terraces on Babeldaob place civilization here as early 1,000 BC.  What is known, however, is that Palau once sustained a population much larger than even that of today.

Palau's social organization is highly complex and competitive.  The race for money, prestige and power, the main thrust of which used to be for political power within a clan or village, was the focus from which most events occurred, such as sports competitions and wars.

Palauan villages were, and still are, organized around 10 clans reckoned matrilineally.  A council of chiefs from the 10 ranking clans governed the village, and a parallel council of their female counterparts held a significant advisory role in the control and division of land and money.

Men and women had strictly defined roles to play in the continuity of the village.  The sea was the domain of men who braved its fury to harvest the fish necessary to sustain the village and wage battle.  Inter-village wars were common, so men spent a lot of time in the men's meeting houses mastering techniques of canoe building and refining their skills with weapons.  Women, on the other hand, held sway in the home.  They cultivated vegetables and harvested shellfish and sea cucumbers from the shallow reefs.

Until the late 1800s Palauans were tattooed, with more ornate designs on women of high clan.  Men wore their hair in tight buns and Rubak, the important chiefs, wore bracelets made from the vertebrae of dugongs.

Even today, despite the influence of generations of explorers, traders, soldiers and administrators from several nations, Palauans still maintain the cultural traditions that make it unique in the Pacific.
 

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