Tabon Caves

Last updated

Tabon Caves
Mga Yungib ng Tabon
TabonCaves.JPG
Philippines relief location map (square).svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Location of Tabon Cave in the Philippines
Alternative nameTabon Cave Complex
Location Quezon, Palawan, Philippines
Coordinates 9°16′48″N117°58′53″E / 9.279882°N 117.9814°E / 9.279882; 117.9814
Management National Museum of the Philippines

The Tabon Caves is a cave system located in Lipuun Point, Panitian, Quezon, Palawan in the Philippines. Dubbed as the country's "cradle of civilization", [1] it is a site of archaeological importance due to the number of jar burials and prehistoric human remains found starting from the 1960s, most notably the Tabon Man. [2] The system is a part of the Lipuun Point Reservation, which has been protected by the Philippine government as a museum reservation to protect the caves and its immediate vicinity from deforestation and to preserve the cultural artifacts present there. [3]

Contents

The caves are named after the Tabon scrubfowl. It is bordered on the south by the town proper of Quezon, Panitian on the west, and the South China Sea on the north and east. Out of 215 known caves, 29 have been fully explored, with seven of them publicly accessible. Other excavated, unexamined remains are stored onsite. In 2006, the site, collectively named as Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun, was added to the tentative list of the Philippines for future UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

The complex is managed by the National Museum of the Philippines [4] and was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the same institution in February 2011. [1] [2] [5]

Archaeological discoveries

The Manunggul burial jar, one of the numerous burial jars found on the cave system. Manunggul Jar.jpg
The Manunggul burial jar, one of the numerous burial jars found on the cave system.

Between 1962 and 1966, the cave system was explored and researched by Robert B. Fox together with a team from the National Museum of the Philippines. [3] Among those discovered on the site was the Tabon Man, which is believed to be 22,000 to 24,000 years old. [2] [4] The team also found over 1,500 burial jars, including the Manunggul Jar, a burial jar remarkable for its near-perfect condition. Other finds included earthenware, jade ornaments and jewelry, as well as primitive stone tools, animal bones, and human fossils dating back to 47,000 years ago, the earliest human remains found in the Philippines. [6] These discoveries indicated that the site was inhabited by early humans from at least 50,000 years ago, with the limestone formations in the site dated as being formed 25 million years ago during the Lower Middle Miocene period.

The Lipuun Point Reservation, covering a 138 ha (340 acres) island connected to the Palawan mainland by a mangrove forest, was declared a Site Museum Reservation in April 1972 and was made a priority site for tourism development in 1991 for its natural and cultural heritage.

In recent years, verification of facts in addition to further analysis of previously collected samples has allowed for a greater understanding of the site as a whole. Radioisotope dating techniques have been able to show a period of near continuous habitation from 30,000 to 9,000 years ago. Human remains as well as rock flakes, hammers, and other stone tools indicate the cave may have been used as a workshop. [7] The bone fragments found in the caves have been suggested to have been from the late Pleistocene to early Holocene periods. [7] Previous excavations of the site have also revealed evidence of a diet including pig and deer, which are extinct in the Philippines today.

While little new data is available because of the cave's location and safety concerns, they are slowly being excavated and the old data is being reexamined.[ citation needed ] Approximately 25% of archaeological sites in the caves have been excavated. [3]

Cave use

Earliest cave uses included inhabitation, and the factory like production of stone tools. According to a video by Dr. Fox, a jar burial period began 3000 years ago and lasted until 1500 years ago. This is evidence the area became dominated by people known as the Sa Huỳnh culture. [8]

The Sa Huynh adorned their dead with agate, carnelian, and glass beads from India and Iran. [8] Artifacts of this nature, including glass bracelets, were found in the cave and are displayed at the Palawan Cultural Museum in Puerto Princesa.

A migration of Sa Huyhn people to Vietnam is accepted by most experts to have been the forebears of the Cham people. [8] These are a people still existing today that created an empire known as Champa.

History of the people in the area took on a new significance in modern times owing to the Spratly Islands dispute.

Igang Cave findings

Igang is one of the upper caves and one of the longest of the complex. It appears to have been the primary burial site and most of the burial jars were found here.

Tabon Cave wall findings

Tabon Cave lends its name to the complex as a whole. In this large cave with a big open chamber, researchers found artifacts indicating trade with China during the Song dynasty and the Yuan dynasty. [9] These are now at the Philippine National Museum in Manila.

College of Tabonology

In July 2015, Holy Trinity University in Puerto Princesa, Palawan was selected for the construction of a new college to studies of ancient Palawan man (Tabonology). [10] Nearly all active research stopped after Dr. Robert B. Fox died.[ citation needed ]

Security measures

The National Museum of the Philippines carefully guards the cave complex. All visitors are watched to ensure they take nothing but pictures and do not damage the cave walls. Further, all burial jars and remains have been secured.

One issue is that new research and exploration of the complex has largely ceased.[ citation needed ]

Tabon Caves Museum

The National Museum of the Philippines opened of the Tabon Caves Museum at the Tabon Cave Complex and Lipuun Point in Quezon, Palawan on February 1, 2024. The inauguraton was attended by Governor Victorino Dennis Socrates, 2nd District Palawan Representative Jose Alvarez, Quezon Mayor Joselito Ayala, National Museum of the Philippines Director General Jeremy R. Barns, among others. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ship burial</span> Burial in which a ship or boat is used

A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was practiced by various seafaring cultures in Asia and Europe. Notable ship burial practices include those by the Germanic peoples, particularly by Viking Age Norsemen, as well as the pre-colonial ship burials described in the Boxer Codex in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maitum</span> Municipality in Sarangani, Philippines

Maitum, officially the Municipality of Maitum, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sarangani, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,185 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catanauan</span> Municipality in Quezon, Philippines

Catanauan, officially the Municipality of Catanauan, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 72,752 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quezon, Palawan</span> Municipality in Palawan, Philippines

Quezon, officially the Municipality of Quezon, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,283 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabon Man</span> Oldest modern human remains from the Philippines

Tabon Man refers to remains discovered in the Tabon Caves in Lipuun Point in Quezon, Palawan in the Philippines. They were discovered by Robert B. Fox, an American anthropologist of the National Museum of the Philippines, on May 28, 1962. These remains, the fossilized fragments of a skull of a female and the jawbones of three individuals dating back to 16,500 years ago, were the earliest known human remains in the Philippines, until a metatarsal from the Callao Man discovered in 2007 was dated in 2010 by uranium-series dating as being 67,000 years old. However, some scientists think additional evidence is necessary to confirm those fossils as a new species, rather than a locally adapted population of other Homo populations, such as H. erectus or Denisovan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manunggul Jar</span> Neolithic secondary burial jar and Philippine national treasure

The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in the Manunggul cave of the Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point in Palawan, Philippines. It dates from 890–710 B.C. and the two prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife.

The arts in the Philippines reflect a range of artistic influences on the country's culture, including indigenous art. Philippine art consists of two branches: traditional and non-traditional art. Each branch is divided into categories and subcategories.

Robert Bradford Fox (1918–1985) was an anthropologist and leading historian on pre-Hispanic Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehistory of the Philippines</span> History of the Philippines before 900 AD

The prehistory of the Philippines covers the events prior to the written history of what is now the Philippines. The current demarcation between this period and the early history of the Philippines is April 21, 900, which is the equivalent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar for the date indicated on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription—the earliest known surviving written record to come from the Philippines. This period saw the immense change that took hold of the archipelago from Stone Age cultures in 50000 BC to the emergence of developed thalassocratic civilizations in the fourth century, continuing on with the gradual widening of trade until 900 and the first surviving written records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Registry of Cultural Property</span>

The Philippine Registry of Cultural Property, abbreviated as PRECUP, is a national registry of the Philippine Government used to consolidate in one record all cultural property that are deemed important to the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, of the Philippines. On June 11, 2018, the entries in the newly updated PRECUP was at 3,921. Additionally, 1,259 out of 1,715 LGUs, or 73 percent of LGUs have established local cultural inventories (LCI).

Dewil Valley, located in the northernmost part of Palawan, an island province of the Philippines that is located in the Mimaropa region, is an archaeological site composed of thousands of artifacts and features. According to the University of the Philippines Archaeological Studies Program, or UP-ASP, the closest settlement can be found in New Ibajay, which is covered by the town capital of El Nido, which is located around 9 km (5.6 mi) south-east of Dewil Valley. Physically it measures around 7 km (4.3 mi) long, and 4 km (2.5 mi) wide. It is in this place which the Ille Cave, one of the main archaeological sites, can be found. It is actually a network of 3 cave mouths located at its base. It has been discovered that this site in particular has been used and occupied by humans over multiple time periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehistory of Sarangani</span>

Sarangani is a province located in the Mindanao region of the Philippines and has a total land area of 4,441.79 square kilometers.. Historically, Sarangani already had an established community even before the Westerners came. The early Sarangani society was greatly affected by the Indian and Muslim cultures, and the first inhabitants were the indigenous natives called

Shell tools, in the archaeological perspective, were tools fashioned by pre-historic humans from shells in lieu of stone tools. The use of shell tools during pre-historic times was a practice common to inhabitants of environments that lack the abundance of hard stones for making tools. This was the case with the islands surrounding the Pacific, including the Philippines. Shells were fashioned into tools, as well as ornaments. From adzes, scoops, spoons, dippers and other tools to personal ornaments such as earrings, anklets, bracelets and beads. These different artefacts made of shells were unearthed from various archaeological sites from the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of the Philippines</span>

The archaeology of the Philippines is the study of past societies in the territory of the modern Republic of the Philippines, an island country in Southeast Asia, through material culture.

Philippine ceramics are mostly earthenware, pottery that has not been fired to the point of vitrification. Other types of pottery like tradeware and stoneware have been fired at high enough temperatures to vitrify. Earthenware ceramics in the Philippines are mainly differentiated from tradeware and stoneware by the materials used during the process and the temperature at which they are fired. Additionally, earthenware and stoneware pottery can generally be referred to as ceramics that are made with local materials, while tradeware ceramics can generally be referred to as ceramics that are made with non-local materials.

The history of archaeology in the Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, has been affected by many significant figures and the multiple chronologies associated with the type of artifacts and research conducted over the years.

Symbolism is an abstract meaning given to an object or representative of one. Symbols can define certain aspects of cultures making them initially exclusive to particular groups. When it comes to symbolism in archaeology, artifacts found may display iconography with these abstract symbols or tell us more about the people who made them through their construction. Symbolism is not limited to only inanimate objects but can be found in the actions or being of living things as well. The Philippines, comprising more than 7,000 islands, is an archipelago where symbols of the past and present contribute to its unique culture. These symbols are influenced by and noticeable in burial practices, rituals, social status, architecture, agriculture, and The Philippines' place in the Austronesian world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyangan Cave System</span> Caves and archaeological site in the Philippines

The Guyangan Cave System is a group of caves located in the island municipality of Banton, Romblon in the Philippines. It is located in Guyangan Hill, a limestone formation situated in barangays Togbongan and Toctoc, and consists of seven caves spread in an 85.3-hectare (211-acre) area of forest land.

The Palawan Passage is a natural waterway in the southeastern South China Sea to the west of the island of Palawan in the Philippine Islands. It is deep and relatively free of navigational hazards, making it an important shipping route. The entire Palawan Passage lies within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines and in waters the Government of the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

References

  1. 1 2 Mendoza, Victoria Asuncion (August 7, 2012). "Tabon Cave in Palawan declared Nat'l Cultural Treasure". Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Philippine Caves Declared National Cultural Treasure". Caving News. August 8, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tabon Cave Complex". National Museum. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Tabon Caves: Site of an important Philippine archaeological discovery". Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Tabon Cave in Palawan: A national treasure". August 15, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. May 16, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Dizon, Eusebio; Détroit, Florent; Sémah, François; Falguères, Christophe; Hameau, Sébastien; Ronquillo, Wilfredo; Cabanis, Emmanuel (October 2014). "Notes on the Morphology and Age of the Tabon Cave Fossil Homo sapiens". Current Anthropology. 43 (4). The University of Chicago Press: 660–666. doi:10.1086/342432. JSTOR   10.1086/342432.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines". National Geographic. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ Joy Tabuada (July 16, 2015). "HTU named as research center for ancient Palawan man". Palawan News. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Tabon Cave Museum opens, aims to boost Palawan's tourism". Daily Tribune (Philippines) . February 3, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.