Dewil Valley, located in the northernmost part of
Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
, an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
province of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
that is located in the
Mimaropa
Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
, is an archaeological site composed of thousands of
artifacts and
features
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
. According to the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
Archaeological Studies Program, or UP-ASP, the closest settlement can be found in New Ibajay, which is covered by the town capital of
El Nido, which is located around south-east of Dewil Valley. Physically it measures around long, and wide. It is in this place which the Ille Cave, one of the main archaeological sites, can be found. It is actually a network of 3 cave mouths located at its base.
[Paz, V., Ronquillo, W., Lewis, H., Piper, P., Carlos, J., Robles, E. Xhauflair, H. (2008). Palawan Island Paleohistoric Research Project: Report on the 2008 Valley field season. Research Project, Archaeological Studies Program of the Philippines; National Museum of the Philippines, Archaeological Studies Program of the Philippines. Retrieved November 8, 2014, from www.researchgae.net] It has been discovered that this site in particular has been used and occupied by humans over multiple time periods.
Although excavations for this site have been done since 1998,
according to UP-ASP, surveys and recordings have been done as early as the 1920s by Carl Guthe, in an attempt to record as many archaeological sites in northern Palawan as possible. This sparked the interest of Robert Fox (1970), but was also limited to recordings rather than excavations. It was only in 1990 that a full archaeological survey was made by the
National Museum of the Philippines and it was only in 1998 that the first test excavation was started. In 1999, a full excavation by archaeologists Solheim, De La Torre, and Bautista. Since then, multiple excavations have been made, with one of the most recent ones being in 2012.
Archaeological discoveries
Different archaeological evidences led to different revelations about the area. During the first excavation in 1998, the archaeologists were able to discover shell middens and human burials. Excavations in Ille continued in 2000 and 2002 at the west mouth and east mouth with deeper excavations. Evidence of
shell middens
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
, burials and similar artifacts in previous excavations were found. Dating of the cultural deposits below the shell midden placed it at an age of around 10,000 years old.
[Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines. (n.d.). Dewil Valley, New Ibajay Archaeological Investigations. Retrieved November 8, 2014, from Archaeological Studies Program: http://asp.upd.edu.ph/palawanproject/index.html] Continued excavations in 2004 resulted to the discovery of more human burials. In 2005, artifacts such as pottery design and
nephrite
Nephrite is a variety of the calcium, magnesium, and iron-rich amphibole minerals tremolite or actinolite (Aggregate (geology), aggregates of which also make up one form of asbestos). The chemical formula for nephrite is calcium, Ca2(magnesium, ...
ornaments reinforced the connection of Palawan to
Mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
.
Excavations in 2006 resulted to greater understanding of the stratigraphy of the cave and the first
cremation
Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...
burial was first uncovered in the east mouth trench.
In the field season in 2007 of Ille cave, approximately eleven complete and incomplete burials were found in the east and west mouth trenches including possibly human cremations and
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
bones in the east mouth trench.
Further exploration of other cave sites in the valley were explored and evidences of human activity along with archaeological features and burial with
grave goods were found near the cave entrance of Pasimbahan cave.
In 2008, continuing excavations of the Ille site reconfirmed the practice of cremation with the recovery of two cremation features at the 9000 years deposit.
Ille Cave
Ille Cave is part of a massive
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...
Pabellion
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
-formation in New Ibajay, El Nido, Palawan. It is about high and has an overhang about high that extends from the mouth of the cave. It is located at the base of a limestone tower. The cave has two main mouths facing the south: the east mouth and the west mouth. Both mouths have large trenches placed on them. Vegetation of mostly secondary growth trees surround and top the cave. The ground of the cave is mostly dry, but some areas are wet due to the water dripping down from the ceiling. Based on
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
, the cave was used as a habitation and burial site (
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
to
Protohistoric
Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...
). In 1998 alone, 20,000 artifacts were excavated by the National Museum and the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines Diliman and the
Solheim Foundation. Several artifacts date back to more or less 14,000 years ago.
Adze blades and their fragments were used as samples to determine the date of the cave and it was discovered that the cave was used extensively during the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
and Neolithic. Ongoing excavation has determined the cave to be continuously inhabited from fairly recent times to the
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...
. So far, excavations have provided a cultural timeline down to the
Upper Paleolithic and
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
.
Burials
A total of 32 burials in various phases have been discovered and recorded from this site. Most burials at the oldest phase have been found to have
bivalve shell beddings under the buried individuals (UP-ASP, 2008). Only two burials were found with associated material culture—the first one, with a metal point, and an infant with an
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
beaded bracelet.
The recovered remains point to its community having early and long-time burial traditions, as well as possibilities of
jar burials (from sherds found). There is an evident practice of cremation of remains, as both human and animal remains with evidences of burning were found a pit, making this the only evident "cremation cemetery" of this age, so far. An evidence of a complex burial ritual was also discovered. The ritual involves an elaborate process of defleshing and disarticulation of bones, crushing of (large) bones, and lastly, cremation and burial. As the remains were also found to be tightly concentrated and compact, it was suggested that it might have been placed in a container that decomposed later on.
[Lara, M., Paz, V., & Solheim, W. (2013). Bone Modifications in an Early Holocene Cremation Buriam from Palawan, Philippines. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Abstract. doi:10.1002/oa.2326] The found remains were suggested to be of a young adult to middle adult female, dated 9000–9400 years old. Currently, this is the best documented burial of this kind in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and this is the second archaeological burial in the Philippines.
Ceramics
A variety of
earthenware
Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...
pottery sherds were recovered from the site, amounting to approximately 12,600 pieces. Unfortunately, these finds cannot be confidently associated with any of the surfaces in the site due to turbation (postdepositional disturbance) of the layers where most of the sherds were discovered. However, some of the decorated sherds were traced back to 4000–5000 years ago, mostly red-slipped with impressed circular designs, with some circles filled white with either lime or clay. Other sherds were associated with the "Metal Period" (which was around 2500 to 1500 years ago in Philippine Archaeology) due to its designs with geometric forms (with some painted red), commonly associated with this period. Large pieces of undecorated sherds were also found that may have been fragments from burial jars.
Majority of the pottery decorations are associated with Sa Hyunh-Kalanay pottery. Variations of the designs (in both technical and stylistic aspects) between the pottery from Ille Cave and other sites in Dewil Valley suggests that these may have been adapted from other traded pottery. Evidence of pottery firing have also been found in the Ille cave.
[Balbaligo, Y. (2010). Preliminary Report of the Earthenware Pottery from Ille Cave and Rockshelter, Palawan, Philippines. Hukay, 15, 1-20.] While there are no primary jar burials in this site, Ille pottery would have probably played a vital role in burial practices of its communities of practice.
Tradeware, although limited, were also found in Dewil Valley. Tradeware sherds recovered from the Ille platform were mostly brown stoneware,
celadon,
whiteware and brownware. These brown-glazed shards are determined to be "dusan" jars from the 10th century. On the other hand, shards found on the Ille tower were blue and white and quite a lot in number, making them easy to pick out.
Fossils
Many
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
remains had been dug up in different sites in Dewil Valley. An excavation in the Ille Cave, near the village of New Ibajay, provided the first proof that the
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
(''
Panthera
''Panthera'' is a genus within the family (biology), family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as co ...
tigris'') once roamed the island of Palawan. A complete basal
phalanx of the second digit of the left
manus and the
distal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
portion of a
sub-terminal phalanx of the second digit of the left manus of a tiger specimen were recovered from the site. Also, a distal end and midshaft of a sub-terminal phalanx of another tiger were obtained.
Additionally, the condition of the tiger subfossils, dated to approximately 12,000 to 9,000 years ago, differed from other fossils in the assemblage, dated to the
Upper Paleolithic. The tiger subfossils showed longitudinal fracture of the
cortical bone due to weathering, which suggests that they had
post-mortem
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...
been exposed to light and air. Tiger parts were commonly used as
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s in
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, so it may be that the tiger parts were imported from elsewhere, as is the case with tiger
canine teeth, which were found in Ambangan sites dating to the 10th to 12th centuries in
Butuan,
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. On the other hand, the proximity of Borneo and Palawan also makes it likely that the tiger had colonized Palawan from Borneo before the Early
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
.
From the late Pleistocene until the early
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
epoch, there was an abundance of deer in the island. However, deer became rarer while the number of pigs increased during Mid Holocene based on the records from the Ille and Pasimbahan sites.(Ochoa, et al. 2014) said that "the increased number of pig remains and scarcity of deer in the middle Holocene middens of Pasimbahan also strengthen the observation that there is a clear shift from deer to pig hunting by the middle Holocene".
Aside from faunal remains, plant fossils were also recovered from the different sites. Many plant remains such as seeds, wood fragments and plant tissues were obtained from the Pasimbahan – Magsanib site. After the sampling of archaeobotanical remains, results showed that "six out of the eleven plant tissues, seeds and nuts were found to be consistently transformed, either charred or probably mineralized state".(Ochoa, et al. 2014) The recovered seeds of ''
Boehmeria'', ''Platanifolia'', and ''
Macaranga'' were also said to be mineralized. Carbonized remains found include all fragments of ''
Canarium hirsutum'' and another nut,
parenchyma
Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms.
Etymology
The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word π ...
tous tissues and wood fragments. Archaeobotany evidences from the site also point that the inhabitants practiced arboticulture and the collection of wild nuts.
[
Cayron, J. G. (2011). Archaeology and Exchange in Palawan Island. PhD Thesis, National University of Singapore, Southeast Asian Studies.]
Stone tools
In total, there are more than 1000 stone tools discovered out of 50,000 artefacts recorded from Ille Cave— a part of Dewil Valley located in Brgy, New Ibajay, El Nido, Palawan— since the start of the excavations in 1998 under the direction of
Wilhelm Solheim
:''This article refers to Wilhelm G. Solheim II, the anthropologist. For his father, Wilhelm G. Solheim I the botanist, see Wilhelm Solheim (botanist).''
Wilhelm G. Solheim II (1924—2014) was an American anthropologist recognized as the most s ...
. These stone tools and other artifacts recovered helped provide estimate timeline for the deposit of the cave for the site.
Excavations of both east and west mouth of Ille Cave in 2005 by the UP-ASP also showed presence of other stone materials and stone tools. It was reported that the sequence in the east mouth that was of
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
y topsoil contained post-Neolithic artifacts which includes stone and shell beads. In the west mouth, some graves were found with stone adze which may date to an early phase. Stone adze was also one of the most significant artifacts found in the excavation in the southern half of the trench of the west mouth.(Lewis, et al., 2006) Aside from this,
stone flakes were also found in Phase E, the habitation and cremation practice phase dated 8,000 to c.a. 10,000, of Pasimbahan site located within the Magsanib district of Dewil.
In addition, the assemblage of artifacts discovered by the UP-ASP and National Museum in the deposit labeled Midden 2, one of the caves in the Dewil Valley which was first investigated for its archaeological material in the year 2007, were composed of mainly of stone tools, together with consumed animal remains and shell fish. Stone tools found in Midden 2 were cobble size stone tools associated with shell food remains, and pig bones. These finds negated the hypothesis that the deposits labeled Midden 2 were not actually an in situ assemblage of stones, bones, and shells.(Ronquillo, et al., 2008)
Cultural heritage
In the 1960s, Robert Fox (1970) headed a National Museum team that continued Guthe's work in northern Palawan; new sites were added to the list of sites first described by Guthe. A good number of these sites were from small islands located in
Bacuit Bay. Of the sites Guthe surveyed, there were a few that National Museum excavated. One such site excavated in the 1960s was Leta-leta cave. Located in Lagen island, in the bay of Bacuit; the conclusion of the 1960s excavation led Fox (1970) to confidently describe the archaeology as a "Metal Age" burial site. The excavation was highlighted by the recovered unique earthenware jar with a mouth fashioned to look like a yawning/shouting person. This unique jar is now considered a national heritage artefact and displayed in the National Museum in Manila.
The research and heritage work at Dewil has accumulated much information throughout its years of existence. In 2005 more artefacts were recovered at Ille in the form of pottery design and nephrite ornaments that reinforced the Mainland Southeast Asian connection of the site. In 2006 the excavation at Ille further expanded to include areas inside the cave itself. There were more artefacts recovered and the understanding of the
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
became clearer.
Excavation on the southern half of the trench continued with the aim of understanding the nature of having Neolithic and Metal Period deposits at deeper levels compared to most of the area of the trench. Further excavation on these contexts yielded more materials such as pottery fragments and human remains. Some of the pottery fragments were found in concentration and belong to one vessel. Some of the most significant artefacts found in this square were a stone adze, a complete pottery pedestal base, and a ''
Melo amphora'' shell
dipper.
In total, there are more than 50,000 artefacts recorded from Ille since the start of the excavations in 1998; broken down to around 25,000 ceramics, 23,000 shell and bone artefacts, 1,000 stone tools and 1,000 metal artefacts and other materials.
References
Further reading
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{{coord missing, Philippines
Landforms of Palawan
Valleys of the Philippines
History of the Philippines (900–1565)