TABON CAVES – Cradle of Philippine Civilization

Tabon caves is known as the “Cradle of Philippine Civilization”; home to the

“Tabon Man”  whose fossils were  carbon dated to 16,500 yrs – one of the oldest
human fossil discoveries.
 Tabon Caves Complex in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan…

tabon caves-quezon-palawan
The Tabon Cave Complex is  a 138-hectare museum site reservation at the  western coastline of
Quezon town,  Southern Palawan. It lies northwest of the  town proper,  bound on the north, east
and west parts by coastal sea; it is  an isthmus connected to mainland by mangroves. 
Although there is only one cave originally named Tabon, all caves in Lipuun Point Reservation
have become collectively known as Tabon Cave Complex where numerous archaeological
artifacts have been discovered since 1962.  Presidential Proclamation No. 996  dated April 11,
1972, declared the cave complex and all of Lipuun Point in Quezon, Palawan a site museum
reservation. 
The excavation site...

tabon caves excavation image

tabon caves excavation 2

There are about 215 caves in the reservation, 38 of which have been established to be of
archaeological and anthropological significance. Presently,  only seven caves are accessible
and open to the public. Between 1962 and 1966, an archaeological exploration was
conducted by a team from the National Museum headed by anthropologist Dr. Robert
Fox in the Tabon Caves Complex.  It brought to light an astonishing concentration of
archaeological cave sites containing substantial cultural materials with an extensive time
range unsurpassed in the Philippines, and possibly equaled only in a few sites in Southeast
Asia. (quoted from National Museum)

See a video below courtesy of “Joecapistrano GMA News MAG Tours Palawan”
Skull of Tabon man carbon dated to 16,500 years, discovered by Dr. Robert Fox on May 28,
1962…

 
The artifacts recovered belong to different periods ranging from 50,000 years ago to the 14th
century A.D. The most celebrated archaeological find is the Tabon Man, one of the oldest known
human skeletal remains in the Philippines dating back to 16,500 years (14,000 B.C.). The oldest
human fossil so far recovered from the Tabon Caves, however, is a tibia (bone of the lower leg)
that dates back to 47,000 years (45,000 B.C.).
The oldest human fossil  recovered from the Tabon Cave

tabon man tibia fossil

The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial  jar excavated from a Neolithic

burial site in Manunggul cave of Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point at Palawan dating from 890–710
B.C.  The two prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to
the after life.
 The Manunggul Jar is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest
Philippine pre-colonial artworks ever produced and is a considered a masterpiece.