Chronology and ecology of early islanders in the Philippines: The Mindoro Archaeology Project

The investigation and excavation of caves and rockshelters located at the southern end of Occidental Mindoro produced significant artefacts, data, and information related to the initial arrival and colonization of the Philippine archipelago by anatomically modern humans. The sites provided several indications for the increasing adaptation to maritime environments and delivered evidence for their behavioural and technological complexity. Mindoro lies along a direct route to reach the main islands of the Philippines coming from the Asian mainland via Borneo and Palawan. Since 2010, surveys conducted in the karstic regions of Ilin Island and Sta. Teresa, Magsaysay have mapped and explored over 40 caves and rockshelters. Particularly the sites of Bubog 1, Bubog 2, Cansubong 2 Cave, and Bilat Cave, have delivered cultural and biological materials that chronicle human habitation and adaptation to maritime and coastal environments over a period of 35–40,000 years. Early islanders in the region intensively foraged for molluscs and other marine invertebrates along the coast, employed different techniques to catch a variety of reef and pelagic fish as well as terrestrial animals, and were embedded in maritime networks with access to transfer routes, through which technology, information, and ideologies were disseminated over long distances and across Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) and possibly also reaching the Southeast Asian mainland. The results of the archaeological research in Mindoro contribute to our understanding of the processes of human island adaptation, complement ongoing research on the peopling of Southeast Asia, and enhance current knowledge of prehistoric subsistence strategies across the region.