The 2007 Season of the Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project A Partial Report Archaeological Studies Program U niversity of the Philippines 2007 A Project Substantially Supported by the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation and the Coral Bay Nickel Mining Corporation Acknowledgement The Members of the project would like to acknowledge the Chancellor of UP Diliman, Dr. Sergio Cao, The National Museum of the Philippines, Barangay Captain Georly Paulino of New Ibajay and Mayor E dna Lim of E l Nido, Palawan. This project has benefited tremendously from the support of the following: The Coral Bay and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Co., the Southeast Asian Air (SE Air), The British Academy, the Solheim Foundation for Archaeological Research, and Mr. Jonathan Kress. We would also like to thank the good people of New Ibajay for helping us during the excavation period at Dewil valley, especially the family of Mrs. Herminia Libudan, and Mimi Cabral. From the town of E l Nido, many thanks to the local government, especially its tourism officer, Arvin Dela costa. Our gratitude also goes to Mariglo and Angelo Laririt for their support, and Cely Dangan, her family and her Laly and Abet staff - our base in town. At the ASP, we acknowledge the help of Aida Tiama, Digna Jacar, Arcadio Pagulayan and Danilo Galang. 2 Contents List of Figures 4 List of Plates 4 1. Introduction 5 2. Objectives 5 3. Palaeohistoric work in northern Palawan 6 4. Methodology 11 5. Results 13 6. Discussion 18 7. Summary 23 8. Recommendations 23 9. Members of Team 24 10. Statement of E xpenses 25 11. References 26 12. Plates 28 13. Appendices 41 3 List of Figures Figure 1. General location map of project area Figure 2. General location map of landscape features Figure 3. Map of Ille site and its surroundings Figure 4. E ast Mouth Trench Profiles Figure 5. West Mouth Trench Profiles Figure 6. Pasimbahan site map Figure 7. Pasimbahan stratigraphic matrix inside the cave Figure 8. N5E 5 trench profiles, Pasimbahan site Figure 9. N2E 5 trench profile, Pasimbahan site Figure 10. Plan of boat shape stone feature at N2E 5 Figure 11. Pasimbahan Midden-1 Profiles Figure 12. Pasimbahan Midden-2 Profiles List of Plates Plate 1. Ille, the base camp and the team Plate 2. Images of Ille site: Iihan, West Connection, and West Mouth trenches Plate 3. Ille E ast Mouth Trench excavation Plate 4. View of location of Pasimbahan site Plate 5. Pasimbahan Rockshelter and Caves Plate 6. Pasimbahan cave and rockshelter complex Plate 7. Pasimbahan boat shape stone feature Plate 8. Survey in Imorigue island and Dewil valley Plate 9. Survey in Korong-korong and Dewil valley Plate 10. Public archaeology in E l Nido town and Pasimbahan site Plate 11. Public Archaeology at Ille Plate 12. Curated exhibit at Ille site Plate 13. View of self-standing exhibit at Ille Appendices Appendix 1. Authorization from the National Museum of the Philippines Appendix 2. Preliminary Report on the Animal Bones from Pasimbahan Cave, New Ibajay, Palawan 4 1. Introduction This research initiative coming out of the Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines is called “The Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Project”. For the season of 2007, work focused ones again on the Dewil valley, New Ibajay, E l Nido. The various research interests of the Archaeological Studies Program (ASP), The Solheim Foundation, and the National Museum of the Philippines were further advanced by this latest season. Just like in the previous years, specialist collaborators from the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and the United States took part in the field season. The research concerns of our collaborators dove-tailed mainly through each specialist’s own research interest with that of the ASP project. The field season started on March 22 and ended on May 30. The slow and multifaceted postexcavation work continues as of writing. Authorization to conduct the project was granted by the National Museum through Director Corazon Alvina. Attempts were made to get clearance from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. The office of the Mayor of the municipality, under the leadership of Mayor E dna Lim, was informed of the continuation of the project and permission was requested directly from the Barangay administration under the leadership of New Ibajay Barangay Captain Georly Paulino. 2. Objectives There were several objectives set for this season: 1. To continue the excavation at the base of the Ille tower karst and continue improving the recording system of the excavation in the Dewil valley; 2. Search and record archaeological sites around Dewil valley and in the island of Imorigue; 3. E xcavate deeper at the E ast mouth, Ille site to see if there are cultural deposits older than 10,000 years ago before the present; 4. Look for other sites in the valley that can be correlated with the Ille cave/cave platform site; 5. Install exhibits containing finding from Ille and its implications to our collective history at the Ille site, New Ibajay, at the Municipal building of E l Nido, and at a Puerto Princesa museum facility. 5 As in previous seasons, there was no illusion that these objectives could be comprehensively answered at the end of this season. It was however the goal of the 2006 season to move the research significantly towards this direction. 3. Palaeohistoric work in northern Palawan The Dewil Valley is located in the northern region of the main island of Palawan – the westernmost largest island of the Philippines. The valley is 9km northwest of the town of E l Nido, which lies between 11o00’ to 11o15’ North and 119o29’ E ast. It is the town that governs New Ibajay the settlement located inside the Dewil Valley. From E l Nido, Dewil valley is 9 km to the northwest, and the Ille tower karst is 14 km away as the crow flies. It takes around 45 minutes by jeepney to reach New Ibajay from E l Nido. It takes much longer when heavy rains muddy the roads. New Ibajay is approximately 235 kilometers north of Puerto Princesa, the capital of the province of Palawan. The Dewil valley is approximately 7 km long and 4 km wide. From the Ille tower, the Sibaltan Bay is approximately 4 km away to the east. The main Dewil River sits south of Ille and runs eastward towards Sibaltan Bay. The river is mainly shallow with a few tributaries. During the rainy season, the waters can turn torrential. Near the Ille karst tower, what are mainly dry ponds and streams during the dry months are brought to life during the wet months of the year. New Ibajay has a Global Positioning System (GPS) reading of 11º11’46” North and 119º30’19” E ast. It has a population mainly composed of late 20th century settlers, originally from the province of Aklan, in northern Panay Island. The people of the barangay are now familiar with the presence of research teams working in the valley. It is however still a challenge to ensure that the local population understands the significance of our study to their lives. The Ille karst tower is a short walk northwards from the main road of the barangay. It is approximately 75 meters high from the base. A cave network hollows the tower with at least 3 mouths located at its base. The main entrance to the cave is composed of two mouths leading to a single chamber. There is a large platform in front of the cave mouths and an overhang that extends to about 10 metres. Thick vegetation surrounds the karst tower, which creates a shaded and cool environment around the platform of the cave. The karst tower formations in the Dewil valley are surrounded by islands of thick vegetation, which in turn are surrounded by rain-fed rice fields and vegetable gardens tended by people living in New Ibajay. While archaeological research has a relatively long history in northern Palawan, starting in the 1920s, there has never been a sustained research effort matching the initiative now seen at the Dewil valley. In the 1920s, the archaeologist Carl Guthe (1927,1929, 1935,1938) pioneered a Philippine wide material culture survey. Guthe specifically explored northern Palawan as part of his project-objective to collect as much ethnographic and archaeological materials from the Philippines for the University of Michigan. In the process he recorded archaeological sites in the vicinity of E l Nido (see also Solheim 2002). Guthe’s work however never went beyond recording and reporting what he surveyed and collected. There was no attempt to earnestly do a synthesis from the vast collection of material culture he gathered and brought back to the United States. Specifically, the Palawan data was not utilized to better understand the nature of transformation of human culture through time. 6 Tabon Dewil Valley Figure 1. General location map of project area.of Figure 1. General location map the project area 7 Figure 2 8 In the 1960s, Robert Fox (1970), continued Guthe’s work in northern Palawan; he added new sites to the list of sites first reported by Guthe. A good number of these sites were from small islands located in Bacquit Bay. Of the sites Fox surveyed, a few were excavated. One such site excavated in the 1960s was Leta-leta cave. Located in Lagen island, Leta-leta was a site earlier reported by Guthe. It was confidently established through the excavation that the burial site was of antiquity associated with the “Metal Age”. The excavation also recovered a unique earthenware jar with its rim fashioned to look like a yawning/shouting person, which is now displayed in the National Museum in Manila. During Fox’s stay in E l Nido, Mrs. Gloria Fernandez and her family helped him in his work. Mrs. Fernandez’s interest in archaeology led to the National Museum deputizing her to monitor and continue the exploration of the area for new archaeological sites. Way after the time of Fox in Palawan, Mrs. Fernandez noted and reported to the National Museum new archaeological sites. Some of these sites were found by Mrs. Fernandez or were brought to her attention by people who witnessed pot hunting activities. Gloria Fernandez is likely the source for the short reference of Fox in his work stating “reliable reports of caves containing cultural materials in the Diwil (sic) and Taytay areas…”(Fox 1970:179). The information shared by Mrs. Fernandez played a significant role in the 1998 E l Nido survey – though there is an eyewitness account that Fox saw the Makangit karst. She was responsible in directing our team to previously known sites in the Dewil valley. The survey made at the valley consequently led to the discovery of the Ille site – an unrecorded site near known sites within the valley, such as, “Star” and “Makangit”. In the 1960s to the 1980s, after the initial interest on sites such as Leta-leta waned, northern Palawan was for all intents and purposes relegated to the sideline of archaeological research. This was the case mainly because interest was focused on central Palawan, which was brought about by the recovery of fossilized human remains in the Tabon cave. These human remains to date are the earliest evidence of modern human existence in the Philippines (Fox 1970; Dizon 2003). By the 1970s, northern Palawan could also not compete in priority with the work pursued in the Cagayan valley in northern Luzon. Consistent with the research direction of the time, the initiatives in the Cagayan valley were mainly focused on the discovery of evidences of pre-modern human existence in the Philippines (Fox & Peralta 1974). While there was an initial survey done by the National Museum in 1990 on the vast landscape of E l Nido and Taytay (Aguilera 1990), a sustained archaeological interest only returned to northern Palawan in the late 1990s through the initiatives of NGOs like the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), and the Southeast Asian Institute of Culture and E nvironment, Inc. (SE AICE ). These initiatives were closely coordinated with the National Museum of the Philippines and Ten Knots - a private company that managed the first class resorts in E l Nido. A survey done in 1998 resulted not only in improving the data on previously reported sites (Paz 1998; Jago-on 1998), it also resulted in the rediscovery of the high research potential of Dewil valley. Within the Dewil valley the Ille tower karst captured the imagination of archaeologists such as Wilhelm Solheim, who was part of 9 the 1998 survey team. Within the same year of the survey the Ille site was mapped (Mijares et al. 1998) and a test excavation initiated. E xcavation at Ille started in 1998 with a 1.87 m x 1m (site grid location of N3W12) test pit at the front of the West mouth; time, manpower constraints, the presence of human burials, and large buried boulders limited the depth of this excavation to less than a metre (Hara & Cayron 2001). The first full scale excavation was done in 1999 (Solheim 1999, de la Torre 1999, Bautista 1999) with four excavation areas opened, following the 1m x 1m grid previously established across the platform. The excavation concentrated on grid squares N3W12, N4W12, N2W12, N3W13, and N2W13. Several human burials were excavated in the process as well as a shell midden. The nature of the archaeology once again slowed down the efforts of the team to get to the deeper cultural deposits. In 2000, excavations continued at Ille with the previous West mouth excavation reopened and excavated deeper (Jago-on 2000; SE AICE 2000a, 2000b). The excavation did not manage to go much deeper than the previous season due to a large rock fall that occupied most of the space of the excavation area. Work continued at Ille in 2002 (Swete Kelly & Szabó 2002; Kress 2002), excavating with equal emphasis on both the E ast and West mouth fronts of the cave’s platform. The 2002 season ended with substantial progress in the understanding of the archaeology at Ille. There was now better evidence for a shell midden layer in both the West and E ast mouth excavation areas; more burials and artefacts were uncovered similar to the results of the previous excavations; more importantly, a series of tight radiocarbon dates came out for the stratigraphic sequence at the E ast mouth excavation area. The dates allowed for a clear understanding of the time depth of the cultural deposits from the excavated shell midden layer to around the depth of 125 cm from the surface. There was a consensus in the understanding that below the recorded shell midden, there was a strong case for cultural remains below the dated c. 10,000 years level dated from the 2002 season (see Szabó et al. 2004). Almost simultaneous with the report of the 2002 season, all previous excavations were further synthesized in a status report written by Prof. Wilhelm Solheim (2004) for the Solheim Foundation. In this report, insights on the possible fate of Burial No.1 to 4 at the West mouth were expanded. It was postulated at this time that we may be looking at the remains of massacred individuals hurriedly buried. The Solheim report also reiterated a call for the Philippine archaeology community to commit to a long-term research initiative at Ille. The materials from all the Ille excavation seasons are mainly stored in the facilities of the Archaeological Studies Program in Diliman, where further analysis is currently in progress. The continuing post-excavation work on the Dewil valley materials has already resulted in the publication of several studies. The challenge of initially mapping the site was reflected on, and resulted in, the creation of one of the more detailed maps of the platform to date (Pawlik 2004). The human teeth from burials excavated in the first two seasons were further studied (Medrana 2002). The teeth study gave us a better understanding of the ages and health of some of the individuals buried at the platform – this was the most that could be done at the time of publication, working on badly preserved skeletal remains. This study can be further improved with the recovery of better-preserved human remains from 2005. From the various shell remains excavated from Ille an initial study managed to determine most of these shells to species level and initiate a discussion on subsistence 10 (Faylona 2003, 2006). The shell artefacts from Ille also contributed to the dissertation research of Dr. Katherine Szabó from the Australian National University (Szabo 2004), and parts of this study are included in upcoming publications by Szabo. From another perspective, the discovery of a terracotta turtle figurine from Sinilakan, another Dewil valley tower karst, allowed for reflection on the significance of turtles in the cosmology of early inhabitants of the valley (Cayron 2004). There is also an article published by Ochoa (2005) analysing the juvenile dog remains found at the West mouth trench at Ille. She situated this find within a large view of dog domestication. A look by Kress (2006) on the work done by Robert Fox on the Negritos situates the potentials of the current excavation work at Ille, which may have implications on our understanding of modern human origins in the Philippine archipelago. The study at the Dewil valley also benefits from parallel research by Quaternary geologists from the National Institute of Geological Sciences at UP (see Maeda et al. 2003). The combined analysis of data collected from the study of uplifted tidal notches, sediment cores, and coral reef terraces may allow for an understanding of sea levels and possible climatic conditions at the time the Ille tower was utilized as a burial and habitation site. As of writing, there are many more works being written on materials and questions associated with the study that is on going in the island of Palawan. 4. Methodology Several methods were utilized to address the research objectives of this project. 4.1 E xcavation This is the primary method for this research. For this season we excavated specifically at the platform/rockshelter, cave located within the Ille tower karst. This season’s work at Ille continued the excavation that was started in 1999, continued in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, and last excavated in 2006. The excavation for this season was still concentrated in the area of the cave platform in front of the two main cave mouths labelled “West Mouth” and “E ast Mouth”. The backfill from previous excavations were taken out to expose the plastic lining left on top of the last exposed surface of the 2006 excavation. At the end of the season all excavated areas were lined with plastic sacks and backfilled in anticipation of the 2008 season. The West and E ast mouth trenches are by now lacking much back-fill material. This is due mainly to the high resolution methodology applied on site where wet sieving and flotation off-site was extensively practiced. An intricate terraced sandbagging system was applied to prevent the walls of the trench from collapsing. 4.2 Survey The survey method was done by applying informant work. From the areas pointed out by the informant, an ocular inspection was carried out on the known area and its surroundings. The survey of the Dewil valley continued. For this season, the island of Imorigue was earmarked for survey as well as the coastal areas of the town of E l Nido. We resurveyed the Dewil towers and went to new towers that were never surveyed before, such as the two Kulanga towers. 11 4.3 H igh resolution recovery of finds It has been the aim of the excavation at Dewil to practice high resolution recovery of all possible evidence of past human activity, especially human-plant and human-animal interactions; there is a constant aim to understand both ecological and cultural patterns on site. The matrix associated with known surfaces and features such as shell middens and hearths at the West and E ast Mouths were subjected to flotation. The heavy fraction that remained after the wet sieving were sun-dried, sorted for biological remains and artefacts while at the field base. The light fraction samples from the flotation were brought back to the ASP laboratory for further sorting and analysis. Special interest was also given to the types of shell remains recovered from the site. All sediments above the shell midden layers not associated with hearths and pits were dry sieved. The sediments from the shell middens were completely floated and wet sieved. All context from the shell middens down to the lowest levels that were not hearths, pits or combustion features underwent wet sieving. 4.5 Soil Micromorphology sampling This method was consciously applied throughout the project as a key approach in the objective of understanding the transformations of the Palawan landscape, and the role humans played in these transformations. It is also an important method for creating fine-resolution evidence for the understanding of the nature of human activity at the Ille site. Samples were taken for this season in the E ast Mouth excavation area. The samples were carved-off the excavation walls in chunks and carefully taken out, packed in layers of bubble-wrap and adhesive tape. 4.6 Public archaeology work In the effort to clearly share the scientific findings of the study to the general public living in Palawan, the installation of exhibits was made a priority objective for this season. Technical cast/replicas of major artefacts found in Palawan were commissioned from the Archaeology division of the National Museum. These items were combined with short but informative text on what we know about Palawan archaeology and the place of this body of knowledge in the overall history of humanity in the Philippines and the world. There where three locations earmarked for these exhibits: Puerto Princesa, E l Nido town, and at the Ille site itself in New Ibjay, E l Nido. The text for the city and town exhibits had a more general treatment of archaeology in Palawan, which included our work in the Dewil valley. The E l Nido town exhibit had a special focus on the archaeology found within the town and Bacuit bay. The exhibit for Ille focuses on the findings generated from the site, which was then situated in the bigger picture of Palawan, Philippines and world history. All exhibits had bilingual text: larger font in Filipino and a smaller font text in E nglish. 12 5. Results The following is a summary of results of the work done. A more detailed account will be included in the expanded report of the project and in the publication volumes planned in the near future. 5.1 Ille excavation For the entire period of the field season the Ille site underwent full blown excavation. The West Mouth Trench was fully reopened to the levels of the 2006 excavation. The E ast Mouth Trench was partially reopened towards the northern end to enable further deepening to see if there are older cultural deposits beyond the sterile layer, and to find more evidence of cremated burials. Three human cremations were excavated this season. These cremations were found at the E ast Mouth Trench, at the same stratigraphic context as the first cremation excavated by the team in 2005. Radiocarbon dating of the bones and the sediments around the bones establish the age of the cremation to around 9,000 years old. The deep excavation at the northern end of the trench went very slow due to the highly compact nature of the sediments. The excavation within the roughly 1 m x 1m area of excavation continued to be sterile of any cultural deposits. The excavation ended due to time constraints at a depth of around 4.7 meters from the DP. For the West Mouth, the previously excavated area was opened to the levels of the 2006 season’s excavation. The most significant result of this work was the exposed and excavated feature at the northern end of the trench called 1626; numerous amounts of mammalian bones and shells were recovered from this context together with stone tools. The excavation was leveled at the depth of around 2.2 meters at the end of the season. The Outlier trench, last excavated in 2004, was once again opened. The stratigraphy recorded at the Outlier allowed for a better understanding of what was happening in periods relevant to the archaeology. A new trench called the West Connection Trench was opened, which connected the Outlier with the West Mouth Trench. As expected, several layers of human burials were uncovered in this 1 m x 4 trench; the trench was excavated only as deep as the Outlier trench at more than 120 cm from DP. E xcavation also continued inside the cave in the E ast Mouth long trench. Work was however stopped early because of the danger of collapse of the northern walls of the E ast Mouth Trench. The Iihan trench excavation continued from where the 2006 season ended. The excavation revealed a shell midden with pottery sherds and a stone adze. E xcavation went as deep as 160 cm from the DP. We also recovered from a hole above the surface level, further west of Iihan, a bi-facial stone tool. From the new marks observed at the edges of the tool, it looks like it fell from a higher perch inside this hole. To date, since 1998, there are more than 21,000 artefacts accessioned coming from Ille. 13 5.2 Pasimbahan excavation This season led to the archaeological discovery of Pasimbahan site in the Dewil valley (N110 12”881’, E 1190 29”59’). The site is located in the Magsanib district of Dewil, on the base of the Southeast face of the large limestone karst called “Star”. In front of the current cave entrance are signs of ancient cave roof collapses, which created a long and tall (approximately 25 meters high) rockshelter perpendicular to the cave entrance. The site was given National Museum code of IV-2007-Q. Pasimbahan cave was located with the help of Mr. Romeo Fines, a long time resident of New Ibajay, whose family were early migrants from Ibajay, Panay; he works the field around the Southeast face of Star. Mr. Fines is also a bird’s nest collector and has responsibilities connected with the guarding of the bird’s nest resource from poachers. The cave was not generally known to people living in New Ibajay. According to Mr. Fines, there were a few elderly Palawanon individuals who used to live in Dewil who told Mr. Fines that they called the cave “Pasimbahan”. Mr. Fines cleared the thick vegetation covering the entrance of the cave from view in the year 2001 and was surprised to see a large cave network. He made the cave his home for three years with not many people knowing of the location of Pasimbahan. This new site holds a great amount of potential. From the initial investigation, we know that the site was occupied by humans at a period before the introduction of pottery. In this period inside the cave, there was a feature made from limestone rocks, some clearly modified, that was fashioned to look like the outline of a boat. At a small cave at the side of the main Pasimbahan cave, a shell midden (Midden-2) cemented by travertine deposits did not have any pottery but had many stone tools, animal bones and bi-valve shells – some transformed into tools. There was also a secondary burial (Context 18) of a cluster of bones recovered inside a small crevice above the limestone formations of Midden-2. Several individuals were recovered and all were covered with hematite powder. A small tanged dagger-like metal blade was recovered with these bones, the tip broken in antiquity. At the long rockshelter perpendicular to the cave was another shell midden (Midden-1) that may be associated in time with Midden-2 except that it had added on top of it younger deposits of culture. Though the site is definitely significant, the artefacts recovered and curated from this site is not much. There are less than 500 items collected and accessioned, most of them are lithics, animal bones and shells. A few are pottery, human remains, and glass beads. 5.2 Surveys Several new sites were discovered and recorded in the span of this field season’s work. 1. Tuktok ng Ille, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-V) We’ve known for a long time now that there is a site on top of the Ille tower, we have only given it a formal National Museum site code this year. In the past, the few artefacts collected from the top of the tower were recorded together with the Ille rockshelter. Now 14 that we have established that the materials generally found on top of the tower are much younger than the youngest artefacts found in the rockshelter, it is essential that we treat them separately. Blue and white tradeware ceramic sherds were recovered together with brown stoneware sherds, and earthenware sherd ceramics. All the materials were scattered on the jagged rock surface. It seems they were left out on the surface rather than buried. 2. Simbahan cave, Imorigue Island, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-K) Generally located at the E ast-face of Imorique island. This is a small cave with a large entrance that can be approached climbing shortly from the tidal bank. The main cave mouth is approximately 22 meters high with a width of 15 meters. There is a large speleothem pillar located near the cave mouth. Inside, the cave ceiling is approximately 20 meters high at its highest point, 20 meters at its north-south axis and 20 meters at its E ast-West axis. The cave has two chambers with the smaller chamber approximately 1 m high, 3 m wide at the entrance, and 7 meters deep. It was utilised in antiquity as evident in the artefacts recovered within the cave, i.e., three fragments of worked Melo spp. shell, earthenware sherds, tradeware blue and white sherds and highly fragmented human bones. There are two treasure hunter’s pits, roughly with a diameter of 1.5 m, next to the west wall of the cave. There are also signs of guano quarrying. 3. Maulohin cave, Imorigue Island, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-L) The entrance to this cave site is through a small opening at sea level at the northwest cliff wall facing of the island. From the entrance one enters a large crevice in the limestone. An easy climb of around 30 meters lead to a small cave entrance ( 2m high and 1.5 m wide). Inside the cave, the ceiling rises to around 4.5 meters. The entire length of the cave is around 10 meters and at its widest parts it is around 8 meters. Inside this cave an abundance of archaeological materials were recorded: the remains of a dug-out wooden coffin (prob. Mulawin wood, 110 cm x 31 cm) with a carved ending. Inside what remains of a wooden coffin are numerous human bones stacked inside, including four skulls, most likely collected and arranged in recent time from various parts of the cave. There are large numbers of metal period pottery sherds, some stoneware tradeware ceramics and a Melo spp. shell scoop. The cave it seems has been moist for certain durations in the past. It can be observed at the lower cave walls the cementing of various types of pottery sherds – a phenomenon that can be explained by the current presence of liquefied calcium carbonate rich water running on the surface of parts of the cave walls. 4. Cave 3 site, Imorigue Island, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-M) A small cave formed by the crumbling of the rockfall face of Imorique. The cavity created is 2 m high, 3 m wide and 5 m long. At the inner end of the cave, the human remains were 15 piled. There were at least 16 skulls, many intact long bones and a few metal period type pottery sherds – a base fragment of a pot with cut design. There was also a brown glazed stoneware sherd recovered. 5. Rockshelter above cave 3, Imorigue Island, E l Nido (IV-2007-N) Westward above Cave 3, surrounded by sharply weathered limestone surfaces is a rockshelter. The shelter is approximately 7 m long, 8 m high and around a 2 m deep. Remains of highly weathered human bones were observed from at least four individuals. There were highly weathered earthenware sherds and a sherd from a greenish-yellow glazed stoneware. The highly weathered condition of most of the artefacts inform us that these materials were left on the surface and were already exposed to the elements for a long time. 6. Korong-korong rockshelter (Palisok Property), Korong-korong, E l Nido (IV-2007-P) A series of shelters formed from angular limestone boulder falls on the side of Korongkorong hill, The shelter is located facing west at the side of the hill and is approximately 50 meters above sea level. The mouth is rectangular, 10 metres long and at the highest point, 3 meters high. The site was already looted most likely by local souvenir hunters. We however managed to record the presence of human remains, pottery sherds and pieces of Melo shell scoops. It is not clear if there were jar burials interred in these shelters but definitely the pottery represent a kind of votive offering associated with the interment of human remains in the crevices of these limestone crevices. According to local informants, there are at least five more such sites that can be investigated within the west face of the Korong-korong hill. 7. Idulot site, Makangit, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-T) This is most likely the site that Fox visited in the Dewil valley during his survey of Northern Palawan in the 1960s. The entrance to the cave is not large around 9 m wide and 5 m high. It splits into two narrow and low passages that end in large cave chambers that lead to smaller cave chambers. The site has many pottery sherds associated with the metal period, shell artefacts, and human bones with traces of red pigment on their surface. There is some certainty that the cave contained jar burials. A stone with diamond shaped markings, the same types as recorded from Ille, was observed in this cave. The site has an open treasure hunter’s pit at its entrance with the spoils from this pit dumped inside the cave. It has been clearly looted several times in the past. 8. Isteg (Star-1) site, Sentral Star, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-U) N110 12”78’, E 1190 29” 55’ A rockshelter and cave complex at the base of the north face of the Star karst. It is called “isteg” a take off from the E nglish word stage by the current migrant population of New Ibajay. It is elevated approximately 3 meters from the ground, 20 meters long and 8 meters high. There are several small openings at the back of the shelter leading to a labyrinth of small cave passages. At two locations near the edge of the shelter are clusters of diamond shaped carvings on the smooth limestone surface of the shelter. These markings are very similar to those recorded at Ille and Idulot. 16 The shelter was utilized throughout the 1960s by migrants from Ibajay, Panay, as an initial shelter until they were able to built their houses near the Star tower. It was later a favorite resting place for people working on the newly created fields. In later years, it was a hang-out for juvenile members of the New Ibajay community, leaving behind many painted and carved names of individuals on the shelter’s walls and roof. Today, there are no traces of any small find artefacts on site but accounts of those who utilized the shelter in the 1960s remember seeing many fragments of pottery at the inner end of the shelter, near the small cave mouths. The pioneer settlers narrate that they remembered not only seeing many pottery sherds on the rockshelter but also the remains of a metal bolo. 9. Kulanga Maliit, Kulanga, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-W) N 110 12” 584’, E 1190 28”986’ This karst has a large gorge-like cave entrance opening at its eastern face. There is a small shell midden site near the cave entrance that is slightly exposed, covered in compact mid-yellowish brown silty sand. There is large sinkhole just a short distance inside the cave. There are signs of treasure hunting but not on the cave floor itself but on a feature above the cave wall. 10. Pahanginan site, Kulanga Malaki, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-O) N 11 12” 768’, E 119 29” 023’ The Pahanginan site is located on the southern face of the karst, almost facing the Makangit and Idulot karsts. The entrance and several meters up a sheer wall and can only be reached by difficult rock climbing. The cave contains large pottery sherds belonging most likely to burial jars and rim sherds from small earthenware vessels. A single consumed spider shell was also recovered. 11. Lagatak Bukanan, Diribungan, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (IV-2007-X) A large cave at the north side of the Diribungan karst. The cave is inhabited by a large colony of bats. In small balcony-like formations opening to the cave entrance are at least three small platforms that hold clusters of pottery sherds with design elements associated with the metal period. 5.4 E xhibit mounting There were three sets of exhibit materials prepared for this season; one was tailored for the Ille site, another was for the municipal hall of E l Nido town, and a third was created for the provincial capital of Puerto Princesa. The exhibits had specific text contents for each exhibit and were all bi-lingual in Filipino and E nglish. All three exhibits had an illustrated time-line, which placed the Dewil valley, E l Nido town, and Palawan island in a larger historical setting. Three sets of replicas of key artefacts excavated in Palawan where commissioned from the National Museum of the Philippines and included in these exhibits. 17 6. Discussion This season’s results are promising at levels that are beyond ordinary. The scale of the excavation at Ille is unprecedented in northern Palawan. 6.1 Understanding the sequence of cultural deposition In the effort to understand better the deposition of archaeological deposits, we use the labels “layer” and “phase”. Layers are identified cultural deposits or surfaces local to an excavation area’s stratigraphy. “Layers” in this sense are only labels to a sequence of cultural deposits or localized surfaces, and may not correspond to the site-wide understanding of human use of the surrounding landscape. The term “Phase” is however defined in this report as a site-wide current understanding of the nature of human occupation. As such it is mainly a description of the nature of the archaeology so far uncovered and not yet an exhaustive understanding of the complexity of past human behaviour. Based on the 2004 excavation nine phases were recognized at Ille (see Paz & Ronquillo 2004). The results of this year’s excavation have resulted in the modification of these phases. Bellow is the modified phasing of the site based on our current understanding of the archaeology, with the previous 2004 phasing indicated. Phase A: Current Phase – ca. late 19th century CE to present Current/modern deposits of sediments; includes the current surface and subsurfaces across the site. This is characterized at the platform as a light yellowish brown surface. Artefacts are scattered at the surface from lower layers due to recent treasure hunting activity and recent human utilization of the site, such as the first cave chamber used as an animal corral during wet seasons in the 1990s, and a hang-out place for young adults. It was also for a short period of time in the 1990s transformed into a religious center where people created wooden platforms and camped inside the cave entrance chamber. West Mouth: Context 724, 705, 381, 99 E ast Mouth: Context 434 Outlier (2004 excavation): 18 Phase B: Intensified burial phase ca. 2,000 – 19th century CE . [Formerly Burial Phase 1] This phase is characterized by a high density retrieval of human burials from several time periods. In all excavation areas it ends with Layer 2 (around 16 cm); predominantly brown clayey silt at the E ast mouth and in the West mouth trenches the matrix is a light pinkish brown silty sand, with angular pebbles. Stratigraphically this phase starts just above the shell middens. The youngest burials (phase 1) cut through the surface of this period. The burials do not have any grave goods or remains of body ornaments. The pits are shallow with depths of around 12 cms. (most likely due to post 1960s erosion dynamics due to the clearing of the forest at the platform). 18 Recovered deeper in the sediment are burials associated with glass bead ornaments. The dog burial is associated with this phase, as well as badly preserved burial associated with a probable pig tusk necklace. In this phase various types of tradeware ceramics were recovered with a date range of 10th century CE to the 14th century CE . The view that burial pits from this level of the phase were lined at the bottom with a layer of bivalve shells before the dead was laid down is not supported anymore. A better understanding of the stratigraphic sequence shows that these burials were cutting through the shell midden (context 803, 332,785) At E ast mouth e.g. context 476, 472, 435, 843,457,438, etc. At West mouth e.g. context 141, 112,, 798, 735,750, etc. At Outlier (2004) e.g. context 345, 365, 367 Phase C : Dominantly habitation, Post ca.. 6,000 to ca. 2,000 [Formerly Burial phase 2 & 3, Habitation Phase 1] This phase is dominated by features associated with humans actively utilizing the platform for domestic activity. There is at least one episode of shell midden formation, followed by several sediment deposits all of which are associated with pottery remains, hearths, shell implements, animal remains and various other types of artefacts. This is the first and youngest midden phase. The shell midden was observed at the West mouth (context 898/912) and in the E ast mouth (context 803). The midden contains various types of shells (some worked) and pottery with a few animal bones. West mouth, context 273, 272, 898, etc. E ast Mouth , e.g. , 303,803,742, etc. At Outlier (2004 excavation) 30 cm-60 cm, Layer 3 to 6, dark pinkish brown loose clayey sand, e.g. context 344, 347, 62 etc. Phase D: Dominantly pre-pottery habitation, ca. 6,000 to ca. 8,000 [Formerly Habitation Phase 2 Phase D – 6,000 to 7,000 y.a]. Shell middens that are not associated with pottery sherds finds, hearth formations and burials associated with an assemblage of shell artefacts. The middens were overlaid by a well sorted dark yellowish brown clayey sand, possible surface for the two burials (West Mouth – 868 and E ast Mouth – 727) Underneath the shell midden is a large deposit of dark yellowish brown with reddish orange mix, clayey sand. Layer 3 in Szabo et al. West Mouth , 913,1624,869, etc. E asyt Mouth, 845,332,334,336,731 , etc. 19 Phase E : Habitation and cremation practice [Formerly Habitation Phase 4] 8,000 to ca. 10,000 It is mostly composed of hearth features that extend from around 160 to 200 cm from the surface. The temporal difference of these features can be established and the phasing fine tuned as soon as results come out on radiocarbon dates of charcoal samples collected from the matrix . Aside from heating stones, the features in this phase also include bone remains, bone points and stone flakes. At the upper levels, a cremation inside an organic container interred on the surface of 759 represents a practice of human burial on site at this period. At the E ast mouth, Layer 6,7, context 336,769,784 Phase F : habitation phase – campsite. 12,000 b.p. and older Habitation Phase 5: 2 meters down with chert flakes and animal bones. We now know that the surface of this period was a steep slope, and thus we have only managed to expose a small portion of this surface within the excavation floor at the depth of 2 meters. At the E ast mouth, Layers 8 & 9, context 806, 866. From a general depth of 2 meters to 4.7 meters from the DP we have been encountering a series of compact sediments that do not have any associated cultural, plant or animal remains. 6.2 Understanding the archaeology at Ille A significant component in the understanding of the archaeology at Dewil is dating. The laboratory dates generated from the 2002 excavation at Ille established a good baseline for establishing time depths for a substantial part of the deposits - we knew then that we were dealing with materials with an age range of 2500 to 12,000 years ago. The dates encouraged an intensification of excavation at Ille; knowing very well that we were still far from exposing the bedrock on site. While the dates from 2002 were mostly coming from shell samples, the 2004 to 2006 datable materials were mostly composed of charcoal. The results reported in the Lewis et al. shows a consistent sequence of dates when compared with what Szabo et al. had already published. What the dates are telling us is that the lower level archaeology – levels from the shell middens down – are fairly in situ. The upper layers are very problematic for laboratory dating given the extensive humanturbation observed. Concerning the nature of the archaeological assemblages through time, there is still no clarity if we are looking at the remains of cultures that inhabited the Dewil valley at different times, not at all related to each other, or that there was a general continuation of the same population with the material culture assemblage transforming through time due to interaction with other communities outside the valley. 20 The changes in the way the people treated their dead clearly shows a change in the lifeway, or even cosmology, of the people who chose to utilize the platform at Ille; from cremating, to burying them underneath stone markers - in one example shaping the stone marker to look like a boat - to just burying the dead with the head facing south (or the body facing the cave entrances), to a period when the cave was used to inter burial jars. At two periods of time in the history of human utilization of the platform, there could have been an intensification of human habitation. The presence of the two major shell middens exposed in both the West and E ast Mouth Trenches supports this view. The deposits showed consumption of various species of fresh water/brackish and marine species; a good amount of shell debitage was also observed indicating that various shells were raw materials for material culture making. Concerning later phases stone artefacts, the excavated nephrite artefacts are interesting to underscore. There is high confidence that the jade used for fashioning these artefacts did not come from the island of Palawan. The white nephrite could perhaps have come from the Batangas region in Luzon, and the green nephrite, upon low magnification inspection of the surfaces revealed features that may fit the description of green nephrite coming from Fengtian in the island of Taiwan. At the minimum we are seeing long distance connections between the cultures that came further north of the Dewil valley; easily coming from Luzon, and most likely an interaction that goes as far as Mainland Southeast Asia and what is now southern China at time depths of perhaps 2000 years ago. 6.3 L ook ing Beyond Ille The archaeology at Dewil valley is not limited to the platform and cave entrances at Ille. Though we have not succeeded in locating an open site anywhere in the valley, the other limestone towers, i.e., Makangit, Star, Diribungan, Sinalakan, Kulunga and Idulot, are already known to have archaeology. The most significant work for this season is on the newly discovered site of Pasimbahan in the Star limestone karst. The site shows us, so far, a sequence of human activity. People where using the small cave (midden-2) possibly as a campsite in deep antiquity. We don’t know yet if this period is older than the formation of the boat shape stone feature uncovered inside the cave. In both cases, these periods were before the introduction of pottery use in the Dewil valley. Around a general time period of 2,000 years ago to around perhaps five hundred years ago, we find a series of human activities oldest of which perhaps are the interred bones of individuals (Context 18) covered in red pigment, a shell midden (Midden-1) with clear association with earthenware, tradeware pottery and glass beads associated with the midden. The youngest evidence are reported burials of individuals associated with larger metal blades, one of which was intentionally bended. It is clear that at Pasimbahan, just like at Ille and in other cave sites, the signs of human activity are pregnant with symbolic meaning connected with the people’s cosmology. It is however still an unresolved question whether we are seeing a transforming culture through time or a changing population with distinct cultures utilising the resources of the Dewil valley. 21 Aside from questions coming out directly from information derived from the excavations, there is a running hypothesis that needs to be proven beyond doubt the Dewil valley. Was the landscape that we now recognize as a valley formerly a lake, a sound, or a cove, during most of the early human occupation of the region? The samples taken near the current town of New Ibajay by the team of Dr. Fernando Siringan may give us substantial information to competently answer this question. 6.4 Public A rchaeology There was a significant improvement in the protection of the Ille site, and in general the archaeology of Dewil valley. Since the years of escalated vandalism from 2002 to 2004 were arrested, a gradual cleaning of tower graffiti was implemented. We were delighted to find out that dubbing calcium carbonate rich mud coming from sediments produced by the tower was sufficient in masking paint graffiti. After two years of practice we realised that the paint underneath the mud fades away and the mud itself becomes integrated in the general natural look of the rock face. We were also gladdened by the fact that there were no new graffiti on the limestone walls since 2005, and there was no sign of new treasure hunting activity in and around the tower. This was mainly due to the active protection work done by the project in close cooperation with the local community. There was also the constant presence of signages made at the end of the 2004 season and posted along the path to Ille and inside the Ille platform, explaining the cultural value of the site, and requesting people to protect it. As a result of the effective conservation of the site, we have agreed to put forward a request to the National Museum to officially deputize members of our local team. The team also dedicated time to explain to local visitors from New Ibajay and tourist visiting from E l Nido town what we were finding and our latest understanding of the archaeology at Ille. This is more a commitment we have to the local stakeholders and to contribute to the development of a heritage consciousness throughout E l Nido. At the end of the excavation season a thanksgiving gathering was organized at the base camp, where everyone involved and interested from New Ibajay were invited. The latest addition of substantial exhibits at Ille and at the town hall of the town of E l Nido has raised the level of heritage work in the region. The principle followed for this new out put was not simply to raise the tourism profile of archaeology in an already tourist town, but really, to substantially contribute to the education of the inhabitants of E l Nido, from the barrio level to the provincial, about the value of our collective cultural heritage. We would like to believe that a community that develops a consciousness that sees the value of cultural heritage will be effective protectors of these resources. A community that has a good sense of culture attached to the landscape they are living in, that sees these resources as theirs, will be pro-active members of this community for the better good of many. 7. Summary The 2007 season saw the continuing excavation of Ille site and the accumulation of rich data about the history of human activity in the valley of Dewil. We have confirmed the practice of cremation at 22 Ille with the recovery of three more cremated individuals that are 9000 years old. More sites were found and recorded from the nearby limestone karst inside the valley as well as the known archaeologically rich island of Imorigue. This year also saw the installation of two exhibits for the general public to appreciate the knowledge accumulated so far from our work at the Dewil valley and in Palawan in general. The excavation at the E ast mouth of Ille however went very slow and we still have not reached the very bottom sediment deposits. The hard compact sediments at the current bottom of the trench are not yielding any signs of human activity. We now have laboratory date estimates of 12,000 years ago for cultural deposits, but failed to find datable material for the deepest culturally sterile layers of the deep trench at the E ast mouth. We still have not found settlement sites in the open landscape that can be correlated to the limestone tower sites, though we have recorded more cave sites that show practices involve in the cosmology of the people who made use of the Dewil valley landscape. Due to time and resource constraints, the exhibit set for Puerto Princesa was not installed. 8. Recommendations and prospects This is just a preliminary report of the 2007 season. So much work is still being done on the post excavation analysis of the materials excavated from this season and from previous seasons. In the coming months, a more complete report is expected come out, early in 2008 before the start of the 2008 season. Our work in the Dewil valley has started slowly and in 1998 and in nine years time had only had one year of break. The intensity of work and the scale of pos-excavation work demands much more resources than what we have had. This only means that much work is to be done. From the standpoint of archaeology and heritage, we shall continue our work at Ille, working on the analysis of excavated materials already in our stores from past excavations. There is also a need to further improve our curating and excavation records archiving. Pasimbahan site needs more excavation work. There is a very good chance of getting much older cultural deposits in the site than in Ille given its high elevation and that nature of the deposits inside the cave and in the long rockshelter. More explorations should be done on the island of Imorigue, in the town of E l Nido and in the surrounding high elevation coastal areas to see if we could locate settlement sites that will correspond to the burial sites we have been recording in the limestone towers. We must be able to maintain the exhibits we already have established at Ille and E l Nido, and must set-up the prepared Puerto Princesa exhibit in the coming year. With the new leadership at both the municipal and barangay level at E l Nido and New Ibajay, we are looking forward to much more active collaboration with the local government in finding ways to improve our current heritage efforts in the region. 23 9. Members of the Team for 2007 Wilhelm G. Solheim II – Honorary Team Leader Project Directors Victor Paz, Ph.D. Helen Lewis, Ph.D. Wilfredo Ronquillo, MSc Specialist Members Jonathan Kress, M.A. Jack Medrana, MD Philip Piper, PhD Graduate Students Tony Alvarez (Univ. of Chicago) Yvette Balbaligo (Univ. College London) Isa Campos Jane Carlos Michael Canilao Mindy Ceron Julien Corny * Andrea Jalondoni Myra Lara Janine Ochoa Jessica Pena Tara Reyes Kim Rice (Univ. College Dublin) Patrick Schmidt * Taj Vitales Deputized site guardians George Danay Danilo Libudan Core Dewil Team Members Bong Cabral Remedio Cabral Jomer Danay Carmelito E vangelio Jr. Romy Fines Rosie Fines Petra Gabayan E dmark Gillang Jomari Medrozo Joelius Naranjo Jake Naranjo Potenciana Reyes E frén Sarmiento Grimaldo Sugbo Joey Sugbo Jose Percival Togle Secondary Dewil Team Members Jose Caguia E ric Danay Alvin Decolongon Ruel Decolongon Cyril De las Angeles Dekok Naranjo Melard Garcia Tomas Paredes Felecito Paulino Junior Reyes Jun Romano Guest Vladimir Stoukalov (E ngland and Russia) *Museum National d’ Histoire Naturelle, Paris 24 10. Statement of E xpenses related to the F inancial Support given by RTN and CB for the Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Project, 2007, as of October, 2007 Repair and expansion of Research Base 40,000 PhP Materials for 3 exhibits (E l Nido, New Ibajay and Puerto Princesa) 40,000 Labour for exhibit mounting 10,000 Partial Labour cost during excavation 40,000 Honoraria for Graduate researchers (2 for one year) 120,000 Airfare MNL-E l Nido-Mnl (six return flights) 60,000 Boat Fare from MNL-E l Nido-MNL 25,000 Vehicle rentals (Jeep, boats, motorcycle) 35,000 Partial food and grocery expenses for entire season on site 65,000 E xcavation equipment expenses 15,000 Publication of Test Pit 20,000 Partial post-excavation analysis expenses 25,000 Report writing process expenses Total 5,000 500,000 25 11. References Anderson, D. D. 1997. Cave archaeology in Southeast Asia. Geoarchaeology, 12 (6), 607-638. Andrefsky, W. 1998. Lithics: A Macroscopic Approach to Analysis. E dinburgh: Cambridge University Press. Aguilera, Melchor L., Jr. 1990. Archaeological survey of E l Nido-TayTay, Palawan. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Bautista, Angel P. 1999. Analysis of human remains from Ille Cave, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Backwell, L.R. and F. D’errico. 2003. Additional E vidence on the E arly Hominid Bone Tools from Swartkrans with Reference to Spatial Distribution of Lithic and Organic Artefacts. South African Journal of Science 99: 259 – 266. Bullock, P., Fedoroff, N., Stoops, G., Jongerius, A. & Tursina, T. 1985. Handbook for Soil Thin Section Description. Wolverhampton: Waine Research. Cayron, J. 1999. Report on the archaeological survey and exploration in Barangay New Ibajay, Il Nido, Palawan (Feb. 19-25, 1999). Hukay 2(1):47-53. Cayron, J. 2004. The Sinalakan Turtle-Shaped artifact. In Paz, V. (ed). Southeast Asian Archaeology: Wilhelm G. Solheim Festschrift. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, pp. 276-291. Courty, M. A., Goldberg, P. & Macphail, R. 1989. Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. De la Torre, A.1999. Brief report. Archaeological exploration at Ille Cave site (IV-98-P), New Ibajay (Formerly Dewil), E l Nido, Palawan (January 19-Fehbruary 2 1999). Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Dizon, E . Z. 2003. New direct dating of the human fossils from Tabon cave, Palawan, Philippines. Proceedings of the Society of Philippine Archaeologists 1:63-67. Dizon, E . Z., Ronquillo, W. P. & Orogo, A. B. 2001. Recent field campaigns at Tabon Cave in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan, Philippines. Unpublished manuscript, National Museum of the Philippines. Doherty, C., Beavitt, P. & Kurui, E . 2000. Recent observations of rice temper in pottery from Niah and other sites in Sarawak. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 20, 147-152. Faylona, Marie Grace Pamela. 2006. Notes on the Shells of Ille Cave E at Mouth (E xcavation Seasons 20042005). Test Pit November:32-34. Faylona, Marie Grace Pamela G. 2002. An update on the recent fieldwork in Ille Cave, Palawan. Hukay 4(1):xii. Faylona, Marie Grace Pamela G. 2003. A preliminary study on shells from Ille Rock Shelter. Hukay 5:31-49. Fox, R. B. 1970. The Tabon Caves: Archaeological explorations and excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines. Vol. 1. Monograph of the National Museum. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Fox, R.B. 1978. The Philippine Paleolithic. In Fumiko Ikawa-Smith (E d), E arly Paleolithic in South and E ast Asia. Paris: Mouton, 1996, pp. 50-85. Fox, R., and J. Peralta. 1974. “Preliminary report on the Paleolithic archaeology of Cagayan Valley, Philippines, and the Cabalwanian Industry, June 26-July 4, Manila 1972”. Proceedings of the first regional seminar on Southeast Asian prehistoric archaeology :100-147. Fox, R. and A. Legaspi (1977). E xcavations at Santa ana. Manila, National Museum of the Philippines. Goldberg, P. 1979. Micromorphology of sediments from Hayonim Cave, Israel. CATE NA, 6, 167-181. Guthe, C. E . 1927. The University of Michigan Philippine E xpedition. American Anthropologists 29:69-76. Guthe, C. E . 1929. Distribution of sites visited by the University of Michigan Philippine E xpedition, 19221925. Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 10:79-89. Guthe, C.E . 1935. Gold-decorated teeth from the Philippine Islands. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters 20:7-22. Guthe, C.E . 1938. A burial site on the Island of Samar, Philippine Islands. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters. 28:29-35. Hara, Yoshiyuki and Jun G. Cayron. 2001. A preliminary report on the excavation of Ille Cave, E l Nido, Palawan. Hukay 3(1):81-92. Jago-on, Sheldon Clyde. 2000.Archaeological Program: Ille Rock Shelter 11 March-17 May 2000. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Jago-on, Sheldon Clyde. 1998. Field report on the archaeological exploration conducted in E l Nido, Palawan (May 3-9,1998). Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. 26 Kamingga, J.1982. Over the E dge: Functional Analysis of Australian Stone Tools. Queensland: University Printery. Kress, Jonathan H. 2006. Robert Fox, Negritos and Philippine Prehistory. H uk ay 9:49-64. Kress, Jonathan H. 2004. The necrology of Sa’gung rockshelter and its place in Philippine Prehistory. In V. Paz (ed.) Southeast Asian Archaeology: Wilhelm G. Solheim II Festschrift. Quezon City: UP Press, 239-275. Kress, Jonathan H. 2002. Report to Wilfredo Ronquillo on excavations conducted at Ille Cave, Barangay New Ibajay, E l Nido Municipality, Palawan, from March 22 to April 10 2002. Kress, J. H. 2000. The malacoarchaeology of Palawan Island. Journal of E ast Asian Archaeology, 2 (1-2), 285328. Lewis, H. A. Forthcoming a. Caves in tropical Island Southeast Asian landscapes: investigating cultural sediments for evidence of prehistoric occupation and land use. In Bacus, E ., Pigott, V., Glover, I. & Guy, J. (E ds.) E urASE AA 10 Conference Proceedings. Lewis, H. A. (2003). The potential of soil micromorphology in South E ast Asian archaeology: preliminary work at Niah Cave, Sarawak, Malaysia and Ille Cave, Palawan, Philippines. Hukay, 5, 60-72. Maeda, Y., F. Siringan, A. Omura, R. Berdin, Y. Hosono, S. Atsumi & T. Nakamura. 2003. Higher-than-present Holocene mean sea levels in Ilocos, Palawan and Samar, Philippines. Quaternary International, 115116:15-26. Medrana. J.G.L. 2005. Notes on livestock butchery among the Ifugao and Visayan Migrants of Palawan. Test Pit (7): 23-28. Medrana, Jack GI. 2002. A report on the human teeth from Ille Cave: An E xercise in Odontology. Hukay 4(1):35-48. Mijares, Armand Salvador, Sheldon Clyde Jago-on and Jun Cayron. 1998. Report on the archaeological survey of Lagen, Miniloc, Pangolasian and Cadlao Islands and archaeological mapping of Ille Cave, Dewil, E l Nido, Palawan. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Ochoa, J. T. 2005. In Dogged Persuit: A Reassessment of the Dog's Domestication and Social Incorporation. H uk ay 8:37-66. Orogo, A. B. 2000. Archaeological re-investigation and re-excavation of Tabon Cave, Municipality of Quezon, Palawan Province. Unpublished manuscript, National Museum of the Philippines. Orogo, A. B. 2001. Progress report: result of the archaeological re-investigation and re-excavation of Tabon Cave, Municipality of Quezon, Palawan. Unpublished manuscript, National Museum of the Philippines. Paz, V. 1998. Participant Report, Archaeological Survey of E l Nido, Palawan (with E thnographic notes). Typescript. Quezon Cty: Archaeological Studies Program Library. Paz, V. 2003. The Palawan Island palaeohistoric research: a project proposal. Unpublished manuscript. Archaeological Studies Program. Reynolds, T. E . 1993. Problems in the Stone Age of South-E ast Asia. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 59:1-15. SE AICE . 2000a Archaeological Study E l Nido Community Based Conservation and Development Program. Quezon City: Archaeological Studies Program Library. SE AICE . 2000b A Brief Summary of the Archaeological E xploration of Ille Cave and Rock Shelter. Typescript. Archaeological Studies Program Library. Solheim, W. G. II. 2004. E xcavations of Ille rock shelter, Palawan, Philippines: Preliminary Report. Archaeological Studies Program. Solheim, W. G. II. 2002. The Archaeology of Central Philippines, Revised edition. Quezon City: Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines. Solheim, W. G. II. 1998. Palawan Fieldtrip 19-24 October 1998. Typescript. Manila: National Museum. Solheim, W.G. II. 2000. Archaeological Program: Ille Rock shelter. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Solheim, W.G. II. 1999. Ille Rock Shelter field notes 19 January to 31 January 1999. Typescript. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. Swete Kelly, M.C. and Szabó, K. 2002. Archaeological excavation at Ille Cave, New Ibajay, E l Nido, Palawan (April 2002-E astern Trench). Test Pit 1(1):17-24. Szabó, K., M.C. Swete Kelly & A. Penalosa. 2004. Preliminary Results from excavations in the eastern mouth of Ille cave, northern Palawan. In Paz, V. (ed.). Southeast Asian Archaeology: Wilhelm G. Solheim II Festschrift. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, pp. 209-224. Valdes, C., K. N. Long, and A. C. Barbosa. 1992. A Thousand Years of Stoneware Jars in the Philippines. Makati: Jar Collectors. 27 12. Plates 28 13. Appendices 29 Ille tower looking East Star Diribungan Sinalakan Looking West from Ille, view of the Dewil valley Project base camp at the foot of the Ille tower The Ille site during excavation with safety rails in place for public safety The Ille site reopened for the season Imorigue Ille Makangit Idulot Looking East from Star, view of the Dewil valley Some members of the team at the tail end of the excavation season assembled on the Ille platform Senior members of the team with staff members at the newly repaired and extended work benches at the base camp Plate 1. Ille, the base camp, and the team Iihan Trench: Trowelling to expose surface of shell midden (L); recording exposed stratigraphic layers (M); exposed surface of a shell midden that came out at the end of the season (R). West Connection Trench: Looking North towards the Ille west cave mouth and West Mouth Trench (L); adult burial truncated by a later juvenile burial, which took out the skull and part of the upper arm and ribs of the skeleton (M); looking South with the Outlier trench at the end (R). Outlier Trench: Trench in the process of being reopened; West Connection Trench just starting (L); exposing possible surface (M) investigating the north profile, which is associated with the West Connection Trench excavation (R). West Mouth Trench: Excavating the northern quadrants of the trench (L) the surface of a hearth/midden – Context 1626 (M) the north and east wall profiles of the trench (R). Plate 2. Images of Ille site: Iihan, West Connection, and West Mouth trenches Temporary set-up of Municipal Hall exhibit in the process of being mounted by team members of the project. This exhibit places special emphasis on artefacts and information coming from the El Nido/Bacuit Bay area Image of the time-line section of the exhibit at the Municipal Hall One night exhibit outside the Municipal Hall during the April Arts Fest Signage made and posted at the front of the Pasimbahan site. The text is coached in a language that will hopefully deter further treasure hunting and destruction of the site Plate 10. Public archaeology in El Nido town and Pasimbahan site. Left: Students from a local college purposefully visited Ille site . Archaeologists Taj Vitales stops work and explains to the crowd what was being done in the excavation trench. At this time, a series of cremations were being excavated in the East Mouth. Below: Ille exhibit in the process of being mounted; local members of Barangay New Ibajay already showing interest. Plate 11. Public Archaeology at Ille. The two sides of the panel exhibit (above) and the time line framed and hanged by the Ille cave entrance Plate 12. Curated exhibit at Ille site: an example of what was done this year. Plate 13. View of self-standing exhibit at Ille (right) and how the institutions are acknowledged in all the exhibits (below). East Mouth Trench: Backfilled and about to be reopened (L) west wall area, location of the cremations (M) one of three cremations (Context 1327) before each bone fragment was plotted, recorded and curated (R). Deep trench excavation (L) view of excavation at the tail end; the cremation excavation area; the deep trench and the burial at the Thpit bulk area (M) Top view of the excavation showing the cremation area and the deep trench (R). A boulder that fell inside the Thpit excavation in 2004 was finally taken out (L) retrieval of skeleton at the Thpit bulk area (M) looking south from inside the cave, a view of the excavation area. Plate 3. Ille site excavation: East Mouth Trench Pasimbahan Looking West… Star Clockwise: Approaching Pasimbahan cave on a hill ridge; Pasimbahan rockshelter covered by trees and vine growth - the cave entrance is further inside; a short rock scrambling climb to the rockshelter level; portion of rockshelter near the cave entrances; setting up grid while working on the spoild of Midden 2. Pasimbahan cave Midden 2 cave Plate 4. Pasimbahan site location Star Diribungan Context 18 recording and retrieval of human remains. The operation needed chisel work to remove the bones cemented by travertine deposits. Cave floor of the entrance chamber.The excavations of grid square N2E5 and N5E5 can be seen. The cleaning and stratigraphic recording of the Tresure Hunter’s pit trench called Midden 2 . Plate 5. Pasimbahan Rockshelter and caves Sorting materials coming from the Midden 2. Treasure hunters cracked open the travertine layer on top of the deposit and dug-up the sediments. There is little possibility that anything was taken away by the diggers. Grid square excavation laid-out inside Pasimbahan Cave (L) N2E5 excavation after the investigation of the stone feature and in the process of stratigraphic recording (M) N5E5 has consolidated sediments almost up to the surface (R). Midden 2 in the process of recording after cleaning stratigraphic profile (L) profile that shows the substantial travertine deposit on top of the midden deposit (M) flow stone source of the travertine layer on top of midden-samples for travertine analysis taken here (R). Location of Context 18 on the flow stone between Midden 2 cave and the main cave (L) cramp space and cemented deposits made the recovery of materials difficult (M) Context 2 half way through the excavation (R). Midden 1 view from the top of a boulder (L) recording of the stratigraphic profiles of the treasure hunter’s trench (Midden 1) (M) view of the rockshelter looking Northwest; all sediments were dry sieved by context (R). Plate 6. Pasimbahan site excavations Stone feature at the early stages of unearthing; thin guano layer initially covered the stones. 1 1 Full exposure of the stone feature (L) The stones were numbered, individually plotted before taken out (M) the stone labeled # 1 moved, and was sitting on the later guano layer; it looks modified and may have represented one end of the boat shape feature (R). 1 Stone feature just before it was taken out to look for signs of burial underneath. No signs of any burial was found; the feature was made on mostly on top of the limestone surface of the cave. Plate 7. Boat shape stone marker at N2E5 View of Imorigue Island from the sea. Imorigue has cliff sides all around the island. Climbing up to Simbahan cave. Searching the cave floor of Simbahan for archaeological materials. Consumed Tridacna shells, a modified Melo sp. Shell and a few pottery from Simbahan cave. Entrance from the sea to Maulohin cave. Human remains and a dug-out wooden View of the entrance to Cave 3. This coffin with scattered pottery sherds all cave can only be approached directly from the sea using a makeshift ladder. around, inside Maulohin cave. Approaching “Rockshelter above Cave 3” Investigating “Isteg” rockshelter at the northern face of the Star karst, Dewil valley. Cluster of human remains collected inside Cave 3. Small cave entrances at the inner portion of Isteg rockshelter. Accounts mentioned the presence of pottery sherds in these parts in the past. Plate 8. Survey of Imorigue island and of Dewil valley Diamond shape marks on the floor of Isteg – similar to those found at other sites in the Dewil valley. Metal blades found associated with a burial dug by Mr. Fines just outside the Pasimbahan Cave. Consumed and modified shell fragments at the Korong-korong Cave site. Left, clockwise: Entrance to Lagatak cave; view looking out of one of the Lagatak “windows”; a Lagatak chamber where decorated pottery sherds were concentrated; Kulanga Maliit; view of Kulanga Maliit and Kulanga Malaki; view of the Korong-korong hill face Inside the Korong-korong cave Entrance to Idulot cave. Treasure hunting sediment spoils deposited at the entrance Idulot cave looking out Plate 9. Survey of Korong-korong cove and of Dewil valley 6 8 5 7 9 10 4 3 11 2 1 12 Figure 2. General location map of landscape features: 1) Ille 2) Makangit Malaki 3) Makangit Maliit 4) Sinilakan 5) low karst A 6) low karst B 7) Diribungan 8) Star 9)Kulanga Malaki 10) Kulanga Maliit 11) Idulot 12) Imorigue Ille Limestone Karst Iihan Trench East Mouth cave entrance W. connection Outlier South of Platform Trench Rice Paddy Island Trench Figure 3. Map of Ille site and its surroundings with the location of current and previous excavations indicated 11 Lowere shell midden without pottery Shell midden associated with pottery West Wall Vertical Profile Shell midden associated with pottery East Wall Vertical Profile Figure 4. East Mouth Trench Profiles 86 N 24 27 Rocks not taken out because they were still deeply imbedded in the matrix; may be part of a different feature that extends outside the excavation area, or could be associated with the feature. 2 1 Context 13 cemented material 85 21 20 19 18 11 Context 13 & 7 17 16 14 10 13 15 12 6 8 7 small flat stablizing stone placed under this rock 9 4 5 86 3 N 2 27 24 0 50 26 100 cm Context 13 23 22 37 29 25 28 Context 15 30 Figure 10. Plan of boat shape stone feature at N2E5: Plan at two levels of excavation. Rocks are made of limestone, most were modified. The stones were numbered for excavation recording purposes; the rocks with numbers encircled moved and were sitting on later sediment deposits. Context 13 32 31 Loose pebble size angular limestone concentration 0 50 100 cm East Wall Vertical Profile Shell midden associated with pottery Lowere shell midden without pottery West Wall Vertical Profile Figure 5. West Mouth Trench profiles N5E5 Cave line Midden 2 Cave Datum Point 80 m ASL Midden 1 Figure 6. Pasimbahan cave and rockshelter complex N2E5 1 2 11 3 12 4 7 6 15b 13 10 17 Stone feature 14 5 15a 19 20 ? Context 1 2 & 11 3 & 12 4 5 6 7 10 13 14 15a 15b 17 19 20 ? Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; loose, with medium size rocks Surface after cleaning; Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; loose sediment with some parts compact; Mid Reddish Brown, Clayey Silt; compact surface with a few guano discoloured angular limestone rocks Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt, Compact; at some parts reddish; interface surface with guano deposits. Light Pinkish Grey Clayey Silt, Very Compact; possibly a decaying limestone surface Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; numerous inclusions and very loose; high concentration of angular stones and rounded calcium coated pebbles, with transformed bones and a few highly weathered bivalves. Dark Ashy Grey Clayey Silt; highest concentration of guano like deposits, uneven surface Mid Ashy Grey Sandy Silt; mostly composed of rounded pebbles. Mid Reddish Brown Clayey Silt, Compact; interface surface; surface of stone feature Arranged stone feature of andesitic and limestone cobble sizes rocks – some most likely intentionally shaped. Light Yellowish Brown, hard but brittle under context 5 At N5E5, concentration of small to medium angular rocks in quadrant 2&4 Mid Yellowish brown sediment Clayey Silt, contains concentrations of dark stained rocks and highly fragmented shells Mid Yellowish Brown, Compact; high concentration of angular pebble to cobble size limestone Compact highly fragmented limestone layers at N5E5. Unexcavated layers From 66 to 68 cm from DP many living roots. Recovered jar ear of stoneware and a few fragments of weathered bi‐valve shells Starts around 70 cm from DP From 71 to 80 cm from DP Starts 74 cm from DP Starts around 77 cm from DP Starts around 75 to 77 cm from DP Concentration around 90 cm from DP Around 90 cm from DP Highest rocks first exposed at 77 cm from DP Starts around 76 cm from DP Figure 7. Pasimbahan stratigraphic matrix inside the cave Starts around 75 to 77 cm from DP Around 90 cm from DP Starts around 84 cm from DP Starts around 75 cm from DP West Wall Profile Mid-Section East Wall Profile 11 11 12 12 15b 17 rock 20 Unexcavated 20 Unexcavated Unexcavated 10 10 30 cm Context 1 11 12 15b 17 19 20 Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; loose, with medium size rocks Surface after cleaning; Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; loose sediment with some parts compact; Mid Reddish Brown, Clayey Silt; compact surface with a few guano discoloured angular limestone rocks At N5E5, concentration of small to medium angular rocks in quadrant 2 & 4 Mid Yellowish Brown sediment Clayey Silt, contains concentrations of dark stained rocks and fragmented shells Mid Yellowish Brown, Compact; high concentration of angular pebble to cobble size limstones Compacr highly fragmented limestone layers at N5E5. 30 cm From 66 to 68 cm from DP many living roots. Recovered jar ear of stoneware and a few fragments of weathered bi-valve shells Starts around 70 cm from DP Starts around 75 to 77 cm from DP Around 90 cm from DP Starts around 84 cm from DP Starts around 75 cm from DP Figure 8. N5E5 trench profiles, Pasimbahan site West Wall Profile East Wall Profile 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 7 6 7 13 10 13 Unexcavated Unexcavated 10 10 Context 1 3 4 5 6 7 10 13 30 cm 30 cm Description Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt; loose, with medium size rocks Mid Reddish Brown, Clayey Silt; compact surface with a few guano discoloured angular limstone rocks Mid Reddish Brown Sandy Silt, Compact; at some parts reddish; interface surface with guano deposits. Light Pinkish Grey Clayey Silt, Very Compact; possibly a decaying limestone surface Mid Redish Brown Sandy Silt; numerous inclusions and very loose; high concentration of angular stones and rounded calcium coated pebbles, with transformed bones and a few highly weathered bivalves. Dark Ashy Grey Clayey Silt; highest concentration of guano like deposits,uneven surface Mid Ashy Grey Sandy Silt; mostly composed of rounded pebbles. Mid Reddish Brown Clayey Silt, Compact; interface surface; surface of stone feature Notes From 66 to 68 cm from DP many living roots. Starts around 70 cm from DP From 71 to 80 cm from DP Starts 74 cm from DP Starts around 77 cm from DP Starts around 75 to 77 cm from DP Concentration around 90 cm from DP Around 90 cm from DP Figure 9. N2E5 trench profile, Pasimbahan site