PALAWAN ISLAND PALAEOHISTORIC RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT ON THE 2011 EL NIDO FIELD SEASON Victor Paz, Wilfredo Ronquillo, Helen Lewis, Emil Robles, Vito Hernandez, Jane Carlos, Andrea Malaya Ragragio, Myra Lara, Noel Amano, Shawn O’Donnell, Caterine Manalo, Michael Herera, Janine Ochoa, Darko Stojanovski, Wilhelm Solheim II Archaeological Studies Program National Museum of the Philippines University of the Philippines 2011 1 A project supported by: PCSD Philodrill Corp. 2 In Memory Max Rohrer & Rudy Omega 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The research team would like to acknowledge the assistance in this year’s work from the Chancellor of the UP-Diliman, Prof. Cesar Saloma, PhD; the Director of the National Museum of the Philippines, Jeremy Barns; the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development; Barangay Captain Isaac Lim of Barangay New Ibajay; and Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim of El Nido, Palawan. The research team would like to thank the good people of Barangay New Ibajay for continuing to welcome us this field season. Our thanks are especially due to the family of Mrs. Herminia Libudan, Mrs. Mimi Cabral, and Mr. Rome Fines. Thank you also to Arvin Acosta of the El Nido Tourism Office and Bong Acosta of the El Nido Planning and Development Office. Thank you very much, Mrs. Gloria Fernandez, the grand dame of El Nido. Thank you too so much to Cely and Danny Dangan, as well as their family and their staff at Laly and Abet – Our base in El Nido. Special mention and the team’s warm thanks go to Josephine Gabayan and Max Rohrer†. They have supported and helped since the project began in El Nido. Also, the team’s gratitude goes to Rudy Omega† and his family who have watched over the Solheim Foundation Property in Barangay Calitang. Max and Rudy passed away during the field season. They will be missed. The research team would also like to thank its mother-unit, the UP-Archaeological Studies Program, especially the administrative and support staff. These are Aida Tiama, Digna Jacar, Tess Lubang, Arcadio Pagulayan and Ramil Mainot. We deeply appreciate the support given by Antonio Ventura for this season’s work. We continue to warmly acknowledge the help of Mr. Anthony Ferrer who has opened many opportunities for the project to expand in the last four years. The assistance extended by Dr. Yoly Aguilar of the Bureau of Mines and Dr. Benjamin Vallejo of the UP Environmental Science Department in the identification of most of the shell species presented here are much appreciated. For allowing us the use of its large-bed scanners we would like to thank Dr. Ariel Blanco of the UP Center for Geodesy and Geodetic Engineering and Engineer Jules Bangate. Lastly, but equally important to the team, is that we continue to express our most heartfelt gratitude to the institutions and companies that have supported the project this season, namely, the Coral Bay and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Companies, Philodrill Corporation, Petro Energy Resources Corporation, Cybersoft integrated Geoinformatics, and the Solheim Foundation. We continue to acknowledge the support that the British Academy, The Oxford University Dating Laboratory, The University College Dublin Seed Fund, The Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Southeast Asian Airlines and the Luce Foundation and the University of Washington has given the project in various seasons in the past. 4 CONTENTS Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 List of Plates ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 3. Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9 4. Palaeohistoric work in northern Palawan ................................................................................................. 9 5. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 18 5.1 Excavation ............................................................................................................................................................ 18 5.2 Survey .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 5.3 High resolution recovery of finds ............................................................................................................... 19 5.4 Public archaeology initiatives ...................................................................................................................... 19 6. Results .......................................................................................................................................................................... 20 6.1 Pasimbahan-Magsanib (IV-2007-Q1) ....................................................................................................... 20 6.2 Ille Site (IV-1998-P).......................................................................................................................................... 25 East Chamber Trench Excavation ................................................................................................................. 25 East-West Connection Trench (N2-3 W6-11) .......................................................................................... 29 Grid squares N2-3 W8-11 ................................................................................................................................. 29 Grid squares N2-3 W6-7 ................................................................................................................................... 34 Cremation burials from the East-West Connection Trench ............................................................... 39 6.3 Past Landscape and Environment Surveys............................................................................................. 42 6.4 Investigations in Makangit Karst Complex ............................................................................................. 43 The Fines property excavations .................................................................................................................... 44 Makangit Cave site .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Idelet site ................................................................................................................................................................ 45 Reconnaissance around Makangit ................................................................................................................ 45 6.5 Survey of New Sites in Kulanga Maliit and New Ibajay Proper ..................................................... 46 6.6 Public Archaeology ........................................................................................................................................... 48 7. Discussion .................................................................................................................................................................... 50 The Looting of the Imorigue Ossuary sites .................................................................................................... 50 On the 9000 year old cremations ....................................................................................................................... 50 On the landscape survey and river terraces .................................................................................................. 53 5 8. Summary and Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 54 9. Project Participants for 2011 .............................................................................................................................. 55 10.Plates ............................................................................................................................................................................ 56 11. Appendices ................................................................................................................................................................ 66 Appendix 1: National Museum Authorization .............................................................................................. 67 Appendix 2: Letter on the looting of the Imorigue with National Museum Reply ........................ 68 Appendix 3: Three Dimensional Mapping of the Kulanga River Terraces Emil Robles ............. 74 Appendix 4: Preliminary analysis of Pacaldero pottery Darko Stojanovski ................................... 76 Appendix 5: Analysis of Animal Remains…East Chamber of Ille Cave Noel Amano ................... 88 Appendix 6: Pasimbahan Cave Bone Assemblage