THE LEADER of the excavation team that dug up the oldest bone fragment in the Asia-Pacific in a Cagayan Valley cave said they were planning more excavations in the area to seek answers to the mysteries unearthed by the remains.
University of the Philippines archaeology professor Armand Mijares, the leader of the team that found the fossilized foot bone fragment the size of a child’s finger in the Callao cave in Peñablanca, said other caves in Cagayan province could hold more artifacts to support their belief that humans were in the Philippine archipelago much earlier than currently believed.
“This changes the time depth,” he said.
The bone fragment recovered by Mijares’ team in 2007 predated by at least 20,000 years the bones from the Tabon Man of Palawan, which was said to be 47,000 years old.
It is also older than the remains found in Niah Cave in Borneo, which are about 42,000 years old.
Mijares said the next step for them is to run more studies and undertake more excavations to see if they can find other artifacts to help them recreate a more detailed picture of life in pre-historic Philippines.
“We know the fauna and the flora but the data we have is still limited.
The excavations in Callao cave started in 2003 with funding and technical help from the UP, Australian National University, and the National Museum. Mijares said they would be lining up funding for more excavations in the area.
Mijares said their discovery broke long-held assumptions and raised questions on pre-historic settlements in the region.
Cut marks on the surface of the bone showed that the Callao man used tools.
Author: Kristine L. Alave | Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer [August 05, 2010]