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In this document we share the 2018 results and related data in the annual workings of the Palawan Island Palaeohistory Research Project. At the Ille site we continued to excavate at the East West Connecting and the West Mouth West Extension trenches, as well as the newest trench, called Balete. At Pasimbahan-Magsanib we continued to excavate, with the focus on totally exposing a partially-exposed cremation along the east wall of Trench B, hypothesized to possibly belong to a cluster of cremation burials similar to that exposed at Ille (see previous reports. We also wanted to complete the excavation at Makangit-Maliit-na–Bato, and continue excavating Makangit-Pabintana, and Pacaldero cave sites. The exploration of the landscape for new archaeological sites also continued in 2018. Regarding our heritage initiative, we aimed to improve the contents of the Archaeology and Natural History Exhibit Hall, as well as continue with our community heritage engagement and education initiatives. There was also the matter of how to ethically solve the problem of surrendered human remains to the project that were collected during the 2010-2011 frenzy surrounding the purchase of human remains by unscrupulous individuals, who then passed them as the remains of World War Two Japanese missing-in-action casualties. These bones were surrendered to the project at the tail-end of the 2017 field season at the Dewil Valley. Specific objectives, however, were not all achieved. We did not manage to excavate the West Mouth West Extension Trench beyond the shell layers; the exposure of complex features, such as pits, slowed down the excavation process. The excavation of Trench B East extension at Pasimbahan is still far from achieving its main purpose: to properly expose the cremation context at the bottom of the east wall of Trench B. While Makangit-Maliit-na-Bato excavation was completed as planned, and we have located a new archaeological site (Maulohin Itaas) in Imorigue, the excavation of Makangit-Pabintana did not happen because the archaeologist who was suppose to lead the excavation did not manage to join the field season. We are general satisfied with the results of our latest revision of the exhibit inside the Natural History and Archaeology Exhibit Hall in the Dewil Valley. We still await the full blooming of consciousness within the New Ibajay community that will allow for the full implementation of a ecomuseum approach, a bottom-up, approach to the curation of the space. We are also satisfied with the way the modern human remains surrendered to the project was ethically resolved - through reburial - involving the municipal government, the barangay leadership and members of the New Ibajay community. University College Dublin Coral Bay and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Companies PHINMA Foundation Philodrill Corporation Petro Energy Resources Corporation Petrosolar Petrogreen Petrowind Corporations Cybersoft Integrated Geoinformatics OB Montesorri Leslie’s Corporation Crania Inc. Wilhelm G. Solheim II Foundation for Philippine Archaeology, Inc. OVCRD Outright Research Grant |
