At Pilanduk Cave in Palawan, archaeologists from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman uncovered fossils, mollusc remains, and stone fools dating back to the last ice era.
The team of scientists, coordinated by Dr. Janine Ochoa of UPD, collaborated with the National Museum and the indigenous Pala’wan population to locate the relics of the last glacial maximum (LGM).
Their study, titled “Tropical island adaptations in Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence from Palawan,” discovered evidence that places the antiquity of human occupancy in Pilanduk Cave between 20,000 and 25,000 years ago. This is in addition to their 40,000-year-old hunting and foraging activity on Palawan Island.
From 2017 to 2020, Ochoa and her team re-excavated Pilanduk Cave, carrying on studies begun by the National Museum in 1969.
The cave was well-preserved, according to the expert, with fauna, vertebrate remains, shells, mollusks, and lithic elements still present. There were also tiger (Panthera tigris) and extinct deer fossils discovered.
“[Pilanduk] has the greatest preserved archaeological record of any site in the Philippine archipelago,” Ochoa explained. “There aren’t many LGM sites in the Philippines since many are likely drowned underwater when the coastlines and sea levels were much lower during the LGM.”
This post was originally published in PhilSTAR LIFE: Pinoy scientists find traces of human occupancy during the last ice period in Palawan cave.
SOURCE: Pinoy scientists unearth evidence of human settlement during the last ice age in Palawan cave (msn.com)
CREDITS TO: AYIE LICSI
