In cooperation with the National Museum of the Philippines, 10-ICAL offered a field trip to the Tabon Caves on Saturday, 21 January.
Upon arriving in Quezon Municipality, the local government officially welcomed the group of 49 participants at a ceremony at Diwata Hall. After visiting Quezon's National Museum branch to learn more about the archaeological significance of the caves, the group boarded three small outrigger canoes to reach the cave site. Mr. Angel P. Bautista, M.S., Zooarchaeologist with the National Museum, and author of the book, Tabon Cave Complex , personally guided the participants through the site.
ABOUT THE TABON CAVE COMPLEX
There is only one Tabon Cave, but the caves in the 138-hectare Lipuun Point Reservation in Quezon, Palawan are collectively known as the Tabon Caves. Of 218 caves, 38 were used as habitation and burial sites in the past. Archaeological finds belong to cultural periods that have been traced back from 50,000 to 700 years ago. The most important find is of human remains dating to 47,000 years ago, recovered from a cave popularly known as Tabon.
Because of its rich natural and cultural resources, the Tabon Cave Complex was declared a Site Museum Reservation in 1972.