MANUNGGUL CAVE

PAGE 20-24

PREPARED BY: GIAN M. DACIAN

&
SAMUEL
REALDA
The setting of this burial cave is spectacular,
being tucked into the face of a sheer cliff overlooking the
south china sea on the western side of lipuun point.
Manunggul cave is 375 feet high and to the south of
tabon cave. The cave can only be reached from the side
by passing through a gap in the cliff under an
overhanging limestone -
And by climbing a sheer cliff. it was necessary to construct
a per pendicular ladder, ten meters in length, in order to
work in the cave. The view from the mouth of chamber A
of the South China Sea and nearby islands is truly
Magnificent, certainly this cave was selected as burial cite,
as were others. Because it formed a mejestic setting for
the dead .
The discovery of Manunggul Cave by Mr. Victor Decalan,
Mr. Hans Kasten, and other volunteer workers from the
United States Peace Corps in March 1964, led to a re-
exploration of all the high cliffs of Lipuun point. Before
the discovery of Manunggul cave, it was not believed
that such inaccessible caves could have been used for
burial.
Subsequent explorations, still not completed, led to the
discovery of Pagayona Cave and three other very high
cave. The cave is composed of four chambers with three
openings but only two were used for jar burial. Chamber
A, seven meters wide and nine meters in length , has a
large round mouth .it is light and dry throughout.
Chamber B, is a tunnel like having a send opening in the
northeast side of the cliff. This sloping chamber averages
about two in one half meters in width and is ten meters
in length. The first view of chamber A was a dramatic as
its setting: numerous large jars and covers, smaller
vessels, skulls and portions of painted human bones-
Scattered over the surface of the cave (Plt. X). Many of
the vessels were either perfect. In nearly perfect
condition, or had merely collapsed in their original
position striking too was large number of decorated and
painted vessels. The pottery in Chamber B, in contrast,
was badly broken and scattered on the sloping floor .
Exellent charcoal samples, apparently from ritual fires,
were obtained during the earliest phase of the
excavation of Chambers A and B which were forwarded
immedietly for radiocarbon analysis. This field
estimates of the relative age of the assemblages from
revised, however, for it was originallythought that -
The plain pottery in Chamber B. was the earliest. The
final C-14 determinations show, on the contrary, that
the assemblages on the Chamber A was the earliest.
The C-14 dates as published for Manunggul Cave,
Chambers A and B are thus reversed the completed
excavations of these two chambers also revealed highly
distinct -
assemblages (see Table IX)- Chamber A being late
Neolithic and Chamber B, Developed Metal Age with
Iron. The C-14 date from Chamber B, Manunggul
Cave , is the first absolute date for the presence of
iron in the philippines and agrees with beyer's (1947:
208) estimate for the beggini g of the "Iron Age " in
the Philippines,
About 250-200 B.C. it must be stressed. However, that
the islands of palawan was probably was one of the
first areas to be reached by iron (if not the first) and
although iron and its manufacture unquestionably
diffused with great rapidity, there were undoughtedly
many coastal and lowland areas of the philippines-
Which continued to use stone tool until well into the
christian era. one of the bato caves in the sorsogon
province, skuthern luzon, yielding a late neolithic
assemblage of primary burial jars, polished tools,
blades of cherts. and stone and shell beads had C-14
determination of 179 A.D. (Fox and Evangelista
1957)too, Although -
"Drift"iron implement may have diffused rapidly, tha
actual profduction of iron in the philippines probably
occured at a much later date.The two radiocarbon data
for Chamber A of Manunggul Cave, 710-800 B.C., are
also consistent with the C-14 date from Batungan Cave,
Number 8, Masbate, of754+10 B.C.for a late Neolithic
assemblage -
assemblage of stone tools and pottery
[Solheim(1950s)162 and 165].

Chamber A- Seventy eight jars , jar covers and smaller

earthenware vessels were found in the surface and in
the sub surface levels of this chamber. The range
forma and designs is -
remarkable and to the writer atleast, presents a ear
exame of funerary pottery: that is, vessels which for
the most part were potted specificaly for burial and
ritual purposes. Eight of the nine pottery types
tentatively established for the tabon pottery complex
were recovered in this chamberTabo Organic Glazed
was not found, -
In contrast, only three pottery types were established
for Chamber B: Tabon Plain, Tabon Polished, and Tabon
Impressedas the pottery from Chamber A will be
described in a detailed site report now in preparation,
only brief remarks will be made at this time about the
outstanding pices .
The burial jar with a cover featuring a ship-of-the-dead
(color Frontispiece and Fig 34) is perhaps unrivalled in
South East Asia: the work of an artist and a master
potter. this vessels provides a clear example of a
cultural link betwen the acrchaeological past and the
ethnographic present.
The boatman is steering rather than laddling the
"ship". The mast of the boat was not recovered. Both
figures appears to be wearing a band tied over. The
crown of the head and under the jaw; a patter still
encountered in a burial lractices among the
indigenous people in the southern philippines.
Tge manner in which the hands of the front figure across
the chest is also widespread practice in the islands when
arranging the corpse. The carved prow and eye motif of
the spirit boat is still found on the traditional watercraft
of the Sulu archipelago, Borneo and Malaysia.
Similarities in the execution of the ears, eyes, nose, and
mouth -
of the figures may be seen today in the wood carvi ng of
taiwan, The Philippines and elsewhere in South East
Asia (Chen 1962). Among the Tagbanwa of Palawan, the
souls of people who have died from epidemic sickness
are believed to be carried to a sky world in a similar
ship-of-the-dead.
Informants speaks of seing these boats in their dreams
filled with the departing souls of their loved ones.
[Fox(1954).1927]. During rice wine rituals, a wooden
turtle is floated in the mouth of wine jars to provide a
vehile for the "sailors", a class of dieties that combat
the evildieties of epidemic sickness.
On pawikan ledge, below Tabon Cave, a small turtle
carved from old ivory was excavated . This artifact may
well have hada similar ritual meaning although not used.
This jar and figurine cover is closely linked with a cult-of-
the-dead: a cult, as noted, which is still a principal
elementof religious belief and practice among the
minority peoples -
of palawan and throughout the Philippines. Two other
jar covers from Chamber A are noteworthy:one has
three animal or bird heads surrounding an opening :
the other, a unique tripod construction. Smaller vessels
containing ritual of ferrying could have been supported
by the tripod arrangements on these covers.
As noted, the wooden convers may have been used .
All outer surfaces of one large jar and its cover as well
as other vessels had been painted with hematite .
these were painted after firing and posibly painted in
the cave.
Another unusual ritual vessel from Manunggul Cave is
red slipped bowl with foolring and root-like
construction which was intricately incised and painted.
The stirrup design featured on the "roof" of this vessel
is unique. One pottery coffin for secondary burial, 73
cm. in length and 34 in width, was excavated.
This coffin made pottery is found in the philippines,
Although highly decorated pottery and wooden skull-
boxes have been recovered [Solheim(1959) 164 and plt.
5m (b); Evangelista 196353]. In the philippines, wooden
coffins are of metal age or proto historic in date ; but at
Niah, Harrison recovered a tree trunk coffin with a C-14
deter-
Determination of 2,460 in 70 years ago which is well
into the Neolithic . It is highly likely wooden coffins
of the late Neolithic will also be found in Palawan.
For the pottery coffin from manunggul cave has the
form of a tree trunk.
Curvelinear scroll design on the upper body of the
vessels, including large jars from Chamber A,
Manunggul Cave, are common, either pattern form
by incised lines or incised and impressed design
elements made within a multiple pointed comb-like
instrument. These designs show close affinity with
the kalanay and lay-huynb pottery.
The beads associated with the pottery in the Chamber
A include a few shell beads of two types, principally
the thin flat shell disks which occur in other Neolithic
site: possibly barrel shaped beads of a black and white
banded onyx (A); and 83 jade beads of three basic
types.
The three types of jade beads recocered were (1)
roughly polyhedral in cross section long or short (2)
roughly rectangular in cross section, long or short
(color plate I-A-e); and (3) Disk- shaped, fairly thin,
with rounded edges (Color PlateI-A-c).
Beyer (1948a;63-64) records similar types of jade
beads from the late Neolithiv of Batangas. Although
it is recognized that beads of stone , shell, and glass
are almost useless for dating purposes, surviving for
hundreds of years after their initial appearance - e.g.
the Ifugao, Kalinga and other groups in Northern
Luzon -
Still wear and prize stone beads which date largely
from the metal age or later - a comparative study of
the types of beads from the Tabon Cave for which
there are reliable absolute or relative date shows the
great differences between the beads of the late
Neolithicand those of the metal age, as well -
as differences between the beads of the early phase
of the metal age and those of the later developed
metal age when iron was present. Stimulated by
this initial comparisons, a thorough ceonological
study, including method of manufacture, of tge
Palawan bead type is being completed by the -
writer, Messrs. Ruperto Santiago and Manuel
Santiago of the National Museum and others.this
report will be published in the near future with
description (Chemical analysis of glass) and color
illustrations of all bead types. only two observations
foe comparative purpose on the jade beads from
Manunggul Cave are -
included at this time : (1) they were generally drilled
from both ends in long section of jade which could
form two oe more beads , and (2) the "broken" into
undividual angles to tge axis of the beads. The ends
of tge beads were then smoothed leaving only faint
geooves made by drilling.
The ability of the stone age people to work and drill
ectremely small holes in the jade beads is
Phenomenal. For jade is a hard stone which cannot
be scratched with an ordinary metal knife. An
analysis was made under the direction or Mr. Cecilio
R. Sison, Chief , Metallurgical and laboratory services
Divisions, Bureauof Mines.
Of ten fragments of beads, bracelets and earrings from
the Tabon Cave of the rock describe herein as "jade"
shows that it is specifically nephrite, on of the type of
"true jade" [Zim Shaffer(1967)88]. Fragments of eight
distinct bracelets were also found in Chamber A of
Manunggul Cave: four of jade, three of an -
agate, and two made from large limpert shells. one
perfect jasper ear pendant was recovered and a
super thin and translucent, ellipsoid-shaped
pendant of a red colored chalcedony . No metals -
bronze, copper, iron-glass beads or bracelets, or
other artifacts characteristics of the metal age -
were
found in Chamber A of Manunggul Cave and the two
C-14 dates for this assemblage of 710 B.C.(UCLA-
992B) and 890 B.C. (UCLA-992A) fall into the late
Neolithic of Palawan and the Philippines.

Chamber B - This chamber yielded a developed metal

age assemblage of artifacts, and a C -14
determination consistent with the past -
estimation for the date of the first appearance of
iron in the Philippines - 190 B.C. the open ledge in
front of Manunggul Cave, designated as Area C, as
well as Chamber B, was also used by the people
having iron .
The pottery of Chamber B, (and Area C) is distinct
from the highly decorated funerary pottery of
chamber A, notably in ghe limited range of pottery
types. The pottery of Chamber B, however, still
display tge basic and diagnostic features of the
tabon pottery pottery complex method of -
manufacture, sand tempering, surface color, forms
of burial jars , trunconical jar covers, smaller
vessels with notches on the rims made with a
simple tool, angle bodied wares, slipping, and so
forth. Three pottery types are certain;tabon plain,
tabon pollished, and tabon impressed.
The tabon impressed, however, consist solely of
vessels with designs impressed on the rims or on the
flanges at the throats of the jars . There is no cord
marking or carved paddle impressings on the bodies
of vessels. The absence of paddle decirations on the
pottery of Chamber B Manunggul Cave is highly
significant for it is -
also absent or rare in the late phases of other
developed metal age cave sitesin Palawan. in short,
paddle decorated in Palawan is characteristically late
Neolithic and early metal age, not developed metal
age. it is likely that this temporal trend - tha fading
out of paddle decoration during the developed
metal-
metal age - continued into the Central and Northern
Philippines, explaining its rarity or absence on these
latter areas. One shard of Tabon incised was found in
Chamber B but it is likely that it came from Chamber
A. two vessels had perforations forming designs on
the ring feet ( a study of the perforation show that -
that they had been made with a round instrument
after the pottery had been thoroughly dried). Another
simple bowl had perforation below the rim and one
instrumental cover had perforation at the corner
point of the in-turning rim. perforation forming design
patterns on ring feet are rare-
in the Tabon pottery complex . The artifacts associated
with Chamber B. and Area C are typical of metal age
site throughout the Philippines which are associated
with iron. Ironfragments were common and included
types of glass beads were found during screening:(1)
round, red brown, opaque glass beads, small -
translucent, and dark ultramarine glass beads, jade
beads, a long and short cylindrical form, were
common ; as well as barrel shaped onyx beads were
also recovered ( These could have come from
Chamber A), and the Neolithic type of green, disk
shaped shale beads. Three types of shell beads were
sifted;
(1) Large ring-like beads which were also found in
Batu Puti Cave, (2)tiny disk beads which first appear
during the Neolithic in great numbers, and (3) the
typical small covery beads (Cyporra annulus) with
the dorsal surface removed. Five faceted black and
white stone beads which were found are possibly
unique to
South East Asia, according to Dr. Alstair Lamb, but are
known from the mainland of South Asia. The white
bands bordering the facets were made by etching with
acid fragnents of three clear, green glass
bracelets ,encountered in metal age and proto-historic
site throughout the archipelago.
Shell spoons made from the chambered nautilus
were found in Chamber B and in Batu Puti Cave. the
striking similarities of the glass and shell bead, glass
bracelets, the shell spoons , as well as pottery
between Chamber B of Manunggul Cave and one
assemblage of artifacts from Batu Puti Cave clearly
indicate that these two
sites were used for jar burial at approximately the
same time. Spoons made from the chambered
nautilus, however, have a long history in the
Philippines. They first appeared in the late Neolithic,
possibly earlier and are still being made and used by
indigenous people in the Philippines .
In 1948, the wriyer collected a number of these
spoons among the Agta ("Negritos") of polfillo
islands Luzon, and they are made even by the
Ifugao. Other recoveries in Chamber B included two
round pebbles which were undoughted use as
polishing tools in pottery - melting . for each has a
brilliant sheen in both sides, well as
two ellipsoid-shaped pebble hammers showing matked
abrasion on the ends. Thus, although there is continuity
in the tyoe of artifacts from Chamber A and Chamber B
of Manunggul Cave, notably in the pottery and beads ,
the basic technology and the total assemblage of
artifacts from each cave are highly distinct.
That of Chamber A being Late Stone Age with two
C-14 dates of 890 B.C. and Chamber B Metal Age ,
with C-14 determination of 190 B.C.
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