3 minute read
by Omar Ochoa, PhD
IX
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by Omar Choa, PhD Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, France
SOUTHWESTERN PHILIPPINES: THE TABON CAVES COMPLEX
Located on the southwestern coast of Palawan, the Tabon Caves Complex is a vast network of over 200 caves and rockshelters that honeycomb the majestic limestone formations of Lipuun Point (Figure 232). The complex is extremely rich in archaeological remains that span 40,000 years of human presence in the region. The most significant of these remains are the Late Pleistocene human bones discovered in the eponymous centerpiece site of the complex, Tabon Cave (Figure 233).61 They currently constitute the oldest fossils that are confirmed to belong to our own species, Homo sapiens, in the entire Philippine archipelago.
Tabon Cave has concentrated and symbolized PhilippineFrench collaboration in prehistoric archaeology over the past thirty years. This collaboration is embodied by the fruitful partnership built and nurtured by Dr. Eusebio Dizon of the Philippines and Prof. François Sémah of France, mainly across three institutions: the National Museum of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (the French National Museum of Natural History).
Although the partnership initially centered around scientific research, notably the study of the Tabon fossils by Dr. Florent Détroit and Dr. Christophe Falguères,62 it eventually blossomed to develop multiple dimensions. With support from the French government, students, researchers, and professors crossed the Eurasian continent in both directions as part of academic exchanges. Meanwhile, European funding enabled the organization of events that brought together international participants and members of local communities to learn prehistoric archaeology and heritage management hands-on. The
Figure 232. The towering limestone cliffs of Lipuun Point, draped in luxuriant tropical vegetation and circumscribed by pristine coastal landscapes. (Photo / Yōsuke Kaifu)
partnership gave birth to two major international projects: HOPsea (Human Origins Patrimony in Southeast Asia),63 and PREHsea (Managing Prehistoric Heritage in Southeast Asia).64 Both projects covered a wealth of activities, including conferences, field trips and field schools, master’s modules, workshops and training, intensive programs, public exhibitions, and scientific publications, including master’s and PhD theses.
NORTHERN PHILIPPINES: CALLAO CAVE AND KALINGA
French scientists are also involved in exciting research projects at Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon, on the northern fringes of the Philippine archipelago.
At Callao Cave in Peñablanca, a team led by Dr. Armand Salvador Mijares of the University of the Philippines-Diliman discovered a metatarsal (a foot bone) that dates to 67,000 years ago.65 Palaeo anthropological analysis of the fossil was notably performed by Dr. Florent Détroit of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, who also worked at Tabon Cave. The team identified the fossil as belonging to the human genus, Homo. However, it remains unclear as to whether it also belongs to our species, Homo sapiens, due to remarkable similarities with other human species like Homo habilis and Homo floresiensis. In any case, the find is currently the oldest known human fossil in the Philippines and is among the most significant in Island Southeast Asia.
At the open-air site of Kalinga in nearby Rizal, Dr. Thomas Ingicco of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle and his team uncovered a set of stone tools, a near-complete skeleton of Rhinoceros philippinensis bearing evidence of butchery, and a host of other animal remains, all dating to around 700,000 years ago. These revolutionary findings were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature,
66 a recognition of their significance for Southeast Asian and world prehistory. They not only push back the earliest known human occupation of the Philippine archipelago by several hundreds of thousands of years (by an as-yet undetermined species!), but also reveal how the roots of maritime navigation in the region stretch way back to pre-modern humans. Dr. Ingicco’s research project, MARCHE (Archaeological Mission in the Philippines—Origins, Nature, and Diversity of the First Settlements of the Philippines) was funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He and the members of his team also received support from various Philippine and French
institutions, including the National Museum of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines-Diliman, the Municipality of Rizal, the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (French National Center for Scientific Research), Sorbonne Universités, the Société des Amis du Musée de l’Homme (Friends of the French Museum of Mankind), the Embassy of France in Manila, and others.
The success of these collaborations opens up promising perspectives and paves the way for future cooperation in prehistoric archaeology between the Philippines and France.
