New research confirms the Philippines’ Last Glacial Maximum antiquity at 20,000 to 25,000 years ago based on oldest fossil remains which include the iconic tiger

Across the last 20,000 years, human societies adapted to significant climate and environmental change. One key region for investigating these adaptive strategies is Island Southeast Asia, where fluctuating sea levels led to dramatic changes in coastlines, vegetation and fauna. The authors present new data from the re-excavation of Pilanduk Cave on Palawan Island, Philippines. The results corroborate the results of earlier excavations that identified Pleistocene occupation of the site. Pilanduk shows evidence for specialized deer hunting and freshwater mollusc consumption during the Last Glacial Maximum. The results add to the evidence for the shifting foraging behaviours of modern humans occupying variable tropical environments across Island Southeast Asia.

The research describes new archaeological data for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of the Philippines based on the site of Pilanduk Cave on Palawan Island. We present new radiocarbon dates and faunal analyses for the site. Our new dates confirm the site’s LGM antiquity at 20,000 to 25,000 years ago. Based on these associated dates, we also present the oldest fossil remains representing the nine vertebrate species found in Pilanduk, which include the iconic tiger (Panthera tigris). Pilanduk Cave also provides the only substantive subsistence record known for the LGM for the entire Philippine archipelago. We also synthesize the Palawan subsistence record to provide a picture of changing modern human adaptations from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene amidst extensive palaeoenvironmental changes.

Authors: Janine Ochoa (Department of Anthropology, University of the Philippines Diliman), Jane Carlos (Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman), Myra Lara (Birkbeck, University of London), Alexandra de Leon (National Museum of the Philippines), Omar Ochoa (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle), Patricia Cabrera (Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman), Maria Rebecca Ferreras (Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman), Dante Ricardo Manipon (Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman), Trishia Gayle Palconit (Università degli Studi di Ferrara), Gaddy Narte (Quezon Indigenous Cultural Community/Indigenous Peoples, Palawan) and Ame Garong (National Museum of the Philippines)

Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.88