Rojas, Iris Faith D.

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A DISCUSSION ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF A JAR BURIAL SITE IN

MATANDANG SABANG KANLURAN, CATANAUAN, QUEZON PROVINCE

Mortuary practices function as some of the most significant records of human past. This

enunciate the early mens belief in afterlife and can be a source of ancient social, political,

economic, and ideological orientations. Jar burials have been found throughout the Philippines,

and indeed in the entire Southeast Asian region (Bellwood 1997, Fox 1970, Solheim 1960) with

Manunggul and Maitum jars notably the most widely known because of their elaborate and

unique designs.

After the report made by Mr. Deo Cuerdo, a local heritage advocate, to the UP-ASP and

National Museum of archaeological materials sighting in his municipality in 2006, an inspector

from the Cultural Properties Division of National Museum was sent to confirm the said claim and

later on, several excavations were conducted in Barangay Tuhian (Napa site) by the UP-ASP in

coordination with the School of Archaeology and Anthropology of Australian National University

(ANU) which lasted from November to December 2008, January to February 2010, and January

2011 for the Catanauan Archaeological and Heritage Project (CAHP). According to Paz, V., et.

al. (2011):

Its goal is to advance basic archaeological research in the Municipality of Catanauan in

the province of Quezon and to substantially contribute to the improvement of our knowledge of

Philippine history, the understanding of Southeast Asian regional cultural history, and the

development of a heritage consciousness amongst the Catanauan communities.

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During the 2010 season, a brief test excavation was conducted in Matandang Sabang

Kanluran which eventually prompted the Archaeological Investigation of a Jar Burial Site in the

said Barangay in Catanauan, Quezon Province headed by Andrea Malaya M. Ragragio. The site

that is located on a private property of Comiso family was designated a Museum Site Code (IV-

2008-Z5). This accession code consists of the Philippine region where the site is located, the

year it was first investigated or reported, and a letter and number code combination signifying

that the site is archaeological in nature. The excavations duration was from January 11 to 27,

2011 and it held the purpose of establishing stratigraphic relationships of archaeological

assemblages at the Napa site, to establish the similarities and differences of jar burial sites in

the Bondoc Peninsula and other places in the Philippines, and to create a tentative sequence of

the human occupation of the land.

A total of 5 trenches were opened: ttrench 1 is the reexcavation and extension of the test

trench excavated in the site in 2010 whose purpose is to further investigate the midden

uncovered in the previous season, to reach the actual burial layer that was visible on the quarry

hole, and to go deeper than last season to see if there were older deposits. The team retrieved

sherds from three burial jars, as well as human remains, beads, and sherds of smaller

earthenware vessels; trench 2, already disturbed by quarrying activities resulting to the removal

of several layers, was placed in order to see if there are deposits below, or older than, the midden

and jar burial layer. Because of the disturbance, the trench was presumed to immediately provide

an opening to older layers without the need to excavate through aforementioned cultural layers.

It yielded very little archaeologically significant materials such as plain earthenware sherds and

it was estimated to date within the latter 20th century because of the quarrying; trench 3 was

situated over a partly disturbed area where locals declared that an extended human burial had
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been partially exposed. This served an objective to confirm the presence of these remains, as

well as to find out if there are still in situ cultural deposits. The excavation of this trench ended

when the project leader encountered a type of sediment locally called dalipay which consists of

sand particles that have been compressed together to the point that they become rock-solid thus

leaving it with no artifacts found; trench 4 with location far from the 3 aforementioned trenches

was chosen in order to see if the archaeology reached to this portion of the site. There were five

plain earthware sherds recovered indication an older episode of habitation, and some of the gray

mottling on the surface appear to be circular in shape indicating a possibility of a posthole; and

trench 5 that has a tendency to become marshy, especially during the rainy season, was

excavated to serve as the teams test as to see whether archaeological deposits were still

present at this relatively remote portion of the site. However, no cultural materials were

recovered in this trench. At the end of the excavation, a total of 575 artifacts were accessioned.

Of these, majority (556 pieces) were earthen ware sherds, followed by Info-Pacific beads (11

pieces), shells (6 pieces), a metal artifact, and a piece of wood. In conclusion, using only material

culture as a relative dating method, the team found out that the pottery originated from the shell

midden doesnt contain any of the typical traits of early Philippine pottery like red slipping, and

instead, some of it bears the intricate decoration commonly seen during the metal period.

Moreover, the Comiso site is completely devoid of Chinese or other Asian tradeware ceramics

or any other imported materials and it is noted that tradeware ceramics first started coming to

the country 1000 years ago. Thus, providing a provisional date between 2000 to 1000 years ago.

The site investigation yielded many cultural evidences that can be used for future

development of the study as not everything may be accurate most especially with the material

culture method used to date the site. Even so, with this archaeological excavation, new
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indications of the past life and culture in Catanauan became once highlighted, more questions

would arise, and several debates might go and on thus improving the study of this place.

References

Bellwood, P. 1997. Prehistory of the Inda-Malaysian Archipelago. Honolulu: University

of Hawai' i Press.

Fox R. B. 1970. The Tabon Caves. Monograph No. 1. Manila: National Museum.

Paz, V., et.al. 2011 The Catanauan Archaeological and Heritage Project Report on the

3rd Excavation Season, Catanauan, Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon Province

Ragragio, A.M., et. al. 2011 Archaeological investigation of a jar burial site in

Matandang Sabang Kanluran, Catanauan, Quezon province. Archaeological

Studies Program UP Diliman.

Solheim,1960. Jar Burial in the Babuyan and Batanes Islands and in Central

Philippines, and its Relationships to Jar Burial Elsewhere in the Far East. The Philippine

Journal of Science 89 (1).

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PLATES AND

FIGURES
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