Celendro, Advinn Nathaniell S.

Feb 3, 2023
BSN 2 – YB – 19

1. Who is the author of the TABON CAVES? Is he reliable to be a historian

regarding the TABON CAVES?
The author of the TABON CAVES is Robert B. Fox. He is the one who discover the
Tabon Man. Robert Fox finds different fossils bone regarding to the Tabon Man
including a large fragment of a frontal bone with brows and portions of the nasal bones.
Also, he is an American archaeologist who studies human history and prehistory,
through the exaction of sites and the analysis of artifacts that leads him to be a reliable
source to be a historian about the Tabon Cave.
2. Where and when did they discover the Tabon Cave?
They discovered the Tabon Caves in the Philippines, namely near Lipuun Point
Quezon, Palawan, in June and July 1962.
3. Describe the Tabon Cave. What do you think is the purpose of the Tabon Cave
for the early people?
The Tabon Cave is also known as the Philippine Cradle of Civilization. Its
name came after the “Tabon bird” that digs its nest into the ground. It also the site
where the first group of people establish in the Philippines during the Pleistocene. The
purpose of the Tabon Cave for the early people is for habitation and burial sites of the
people.
4. What is the Manunggul jar and what is its purpose/use?
The Manunggul js is a secondary burial jar which used for processing the
bones of the deceased is placed inside of a jar in a re-burial after the corpse
decomposed. It also represents the importance of burial practices and beliefs in the
after life among early Filipinos.
5. Explain briefly the significance of the cover of the manunggul jar specifically
the “boatman”?
The cover or the lid of the Manunggol jar is important that provides a clear
example of a cultural link between the archaeological past and the ethnographic present
that also signifies the belief of ancient Filipino in life after death. The boath with two
human figures that can be seen in the cover of the Manunggul represents two souls on
a voyage to afterlife.
6. Name other “artifacts” that were discovered inside the Tabon Cave
 Large fragments of a frontal bone with the brows
 Portions of nasal bones.
  Skullcap
 Jaw bones
 Teeth
 Manunggul Secondary Burial Jar
 Jade lingling-ornaments
 Duyong shell adze
7. Why do you think, this topic: TABON CAVE has been included in the study of
Philippine History and what kind of source material is it?
The Tabon Cave has been included in the study of Philippine history because it
was the first location where humans were discovered in the Philippines during the
Pleistocene epoch. We've all heard that history is the study of the past that teaches us
where we've been and how things became the way they are now. The Tabon Caves
represent the history of life stages from the beginning to the present and discuss how
what happened in the past shapes who we are today and our history. The Tabon Cave
is one of the traces of Philippine history that has tangible evidence such as fossils and
artifacts that demonstrate our evolution as humans are vulnerable to change. This
teaches us the connection between the past and present and understand the history by
knowing and identifying from the first evolution to the present. The Tabon Cave written
by Robert B. Fox is the primary source. It used artifacts, fossils, bones, and tools that
the earliest human remains found in the Philippines.