c.

c. 200 BC – AD 600: Early Saladoid villages were typically constructed around a central plaza that served as a designated space for daily activities and communal rituals. At several archaeological sites, these central plazas have been identified as carefully planned burial grounds containing hundreds of interments with very few overlapping graves. The presence of small, widely distributed ritual objects suggests that while the plaza was communal, many ceremonies may have had a more personal or familial character. This spatial arrangement reflects a sophisticated level of community planning and a deep connection between the living and the ancestors. These central spaces remained the focal point of social life as these farming and seafaring communities flourished across the islands.