Ancient artifacts in Sarangani cave found04/11/2008 | 03:35 AM
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Earthen jars and skeletal remains believed to date back to pre-historic times have been uncovered at a cave in Maitum, Sarangani province, local government officials announced Thursday.
Mayor Elsie R. Perret said the artifacts were discovered at a quarry site in the same mountain in Pinol village, where ancient secondary burial jars were found almost 17 years ago.
The quarry site is half a kilometer away from Ayob Cave. The archeological find at Ayob Cave consisted of anthropomorphic burial jars that date back nearly 2000 years ago.
The anthropomorphic potteries of human figures depicting various facial expressions are associated to the Metal Age in the Philippines.
"I feel happy that we’ve found another set of valuable artifacts that would help us understand more our history as a people not only in the Philippines but probably in the whole Southeast Asia," Ms. Perret said in a statement.
The mayor has ordered village officials to secure the cave and have the opening sealed while waiting for the arrival of a team from the National Museum to validate the find.
Lingling Jabel, owner of the two-hectare land including the quarry site, discovered the cave and found potsherds similar to those found in Ayob Cave.
Mr. Jabel, 36, immediately linked the new find to the ancient burial jars excavated in 1991 near his farm in the coastal village.
Mr. Jabel was one of those who helped the National Museum team of Dr. Eusebio Dizon in the excavation of Ayob Cave.
Significant cave
Mr. Dizon, Curator 1 of the archeology division and head of the underwater archeology section of the National Museum, has described Ayob Cave as "the most significant cave in Mindanao" and its finds as "unparalleled in Southeast Asia."
Mr. Jabel, knowing that the newly found jars are of "much value," immediately informed village officials who in turn informed the municipal government.
The distance from the barangay hall to the cave is about 500 to 600 meters through a dirt road. The cave opening is about 2.13 meters high from ground level, with opening of more or less 0.76 meter, the statement said.
From the cave opening, the main chamber is some 7.62 to 9.15 meters wide, with a pocket of about 4.57 meters towards the west, another pocket northwest, and a deeper pocket on the east.
The cave has an approximate height of seven feet with unstable ceiling and this is more apparent on the entrance.
There was no presence of stalactite or stalagmite. The cave material is loose limestone, with a pool of water on the eastern side.
"There are signs that the cave is disturbed. Outside the cave on the right side is a ricefield," said Elizabeth Palma Gil, the town’s information officer.
"Most probably there is a connection to Pinol [Ayob] Cave. The best that you could do is to take pictures, inventory the jars found inside the cave, secure the place and wait for our visit," Rey Santiago was quoted as saying in the statement.
"Keep the site secured from looters and treasure hunters. Don’t let people enter the cave and destroy or even move or pick any materials from surface or below. You can only photograph the present condition of the site for documentation. We need to preserve the site," he added.
Mr. Santiago was the partner of Mr. Dizon in the excavation of Ayob Cave.
Ayob Cave’s "Maitum Jars," as they are referred to now, bore radiocarbon dates of "1930 plus or minus 50 BP (calibrated date of 5 BC to AD 225) and 1830 plus or minus 60 BP (calibrated date of AD 70 to 370)."
"They are unique in that "they are like portraits of distinct individuals, of specific dead persons whose remains they guard," Messrs. Dizon and Santiago said in their book, Faces from Maitum. - BusinessWorld
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88793/Ancient-artifacts-in-Sarangani-cave-found
