M/3CL HAMCHAWAN, NEIL ARCHIE G.
AMERICA SECRION
THE TABON CAVE:
(HUMAN REMAINS AND ARTIFACTS)
A. BACKGROUND
a. Biology of the Author
Robert Bradford Fox was born on May 11, 1918, in Galveston, Texas. He received his
AB (Anthropology) from the University of Southern California (1941); his MA (Anthropology)
from the University of Texas (1944); and his Ph.D. (Anthropology) from the University of
Chicago (1954). Fox was a distinguished American anthropologist who made substantive and
enduring contributions to Philippine anthropology through his research, publications, teaching,
and public service.
Fox was for many years the Chief Anthropologist of the Philippine National Museum.
Besides his service with the National Museum, Dr. Fox taught at the University of the Philippines
and served as Presidential Assistant for National Minorities and Presidential Adviser on
Anthropology under then President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
For some four years and eight months, Fox conducted field research among numerous
folk and mountain peoples in the Philippines. He spent more than six years of cave and open-site
archaeology in Albay, Batangas, Palawan, Pampanga, Sorsogon, and numerous brief periods of
explorations in other areas. With colleagues at the National Museum of the Philippines, Fox
excavated the Tabon caves in Palawan, which led to the discovery of the late Pleistocene human
fossil remains and associated stone implements. The fossil finds which represented more than
just one individual and better known as the “Tabon Man,” include a skull cap, jaw bones, teeth
and several other fragmented bones. Their age has been determined using Radiometric dating,
giving dates between 16500 ± 2000 B.P. for the skull cap and 48000 ± 11-10000 B.P. for the tibia
fragment.
b. Description of the Site
The Tabon Caves, dubbed as the Philippines' Cradle of Civilization, are a group of
caves located on Lipuun Point, north of Quezon municipality, in the south western part of the
province of Palawan on Palawan Island, in the Philippines. They are part of the Lipuun Point
Reservation, which has been protected by the government of the Philippines as a museum
reservation to protect the caves and immediate vicinity from deforestation and to preserve the
cultural artifacts present there.
The caves are named after the Tabon scrubfowl. It is bordered on the south by the
town proper of Quezon, Bgy. Panitian on the west, and the West Philippine Sea on the north
and east. Out of 215 known caves, 29 have been explored and seven of these are open to the
public. The seven include Tabon, Diwata, Igang and Liyang Caves. One of the oldest human
bones found in the Philippines, the Tabon Man, was found here in 1962. Other excavated,
unexamined remains are stored onsite. In 2006, the Tabon Cave Complex and all of
Lipuun was added to the tentative list of the Philippines for future UNESCO World Heritage
Site nomination.
The complex is managed by the National Museum and was declared as a National
Cultural Treasure by the same institution in February 2011.
B. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
This document does not show any forged or faked informations. It has the
authenticity and is presented well. As we can see above, we can tell that the author himself
had his own research regarding the Tabon Cave. He studied the artifacts and described it
based on the history, time this Tabon Man lived because he is an archaeologist. The
documents written by the author is now preserved in the Philippine National Museum found
in Manila.
C. CONTENT ANALYSIS
This documentation of Robert Fox is similar to what the past historical researches on
artifacts is. As for him, he described these artifacts that was found in the Tabon Cave which
is identical during the time these artifacts existed. It is proven with these tools used by these
people before that was found in the cave.
D. CONCLUSION
With the given analysis, we can say that the document on “The Tabon Cave” is
authentic and credible despite the different researches of different researchers. It was
presented on with further evidence and other studies related to the Tabon Cave from other
experts. The author had been at the cave which makes the document also truthful and very
similar to what others had researched.
Robert Fox is an anthropologist who went and discovered these remains of the Tabon
man and the other artifacts. The fossils that was found include a skullcap, jaw bones, teeth
and several other fragmented bones. These fossils represent more than just one individual. In
other words, these so called Tabon Man really did exist and lived in the Philippines
particularly in Palawan. Thus, with all the evidences such as the artifacts and the researcher
himself who went to the site as an eyewitness, these documents are valid, authentic, and has a
credibility.
