Babeldaob is the biggest island in Palau and still covered with thick jungle and rolling grassy hillsides. Hidden among the trees and grass are these mysterious stone slabs, many of them carved with designs that have special meaning in ancient Palauan culture. Some stones mark the sites of old villages; others may have marked important meeting places.
Carving stone is hard work — ancient Palauans would have used other hard stones and shells as tools. Moving large stones through the jungle without wheels or machines is even harder. The fact that people managed to do it shows how skilled and organised early Palauan communities were.
Archaeologists are still studying the monoliths to understand their meaning. Palauan elders sometimes share stories passed down through generations about what the stones represent. Together, the stories and the stones help paint a picture of a rich, creative culture that has existed in these islands for a very long time.