Preliminary Report on the Excavation of Mabangog Cave, San Mariano,

Lal-lo, Cagayan, Northern Luzon, Philippines

Hidefumi Ogawa

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Introduction.

Lalo-lo Shell middens are containing archaeological materials and located on the river bank of Lower Cagayan River in the northern Luzon, Philippines, extending for a distance of 40 kilometers upriver. These shell middens distribute within the administrative area of the town of Lal-lo and Gattaran, Cagayan State. More than twenty shell middens are explored and excavated since the archaeological study of this area had been started from early 1970乫s (see the site distribution map). Site locations of shell middens vary basically in four categories; river bank, limestone hill, inland and coastal sand dunes. Site areas of the shell middens are also varying differently, from the small shell midden having 50 meters diameter to the big one extending 500 meters long, 100 meters wide and more than two meters deep. In these thick deposited shell middens, the present people continue to gather shellfishes from the Cagayan River. The enormous amount of shells had been gathered from the prehistoric time in this area, but the shell species forming those middens are quite limited (except coastal middens). These shell middens are predominantly composed by locally called Kabibi, fresh water bivalve shell. Two other fresh water bivalve shells, and four spices of fresh water conical shells and land snails also form the shell middens. Until this stage of research, Carbon 14 dating of the shell middens are from 3,000BP to 1,000BP (1).

The first stage of the shell middens research in Lal-lo was conducted in 1970乫s at the Magapit sites by the National Museum of the Philippines. Red-slipped potteries of different shapes with decoration of dot punctuation and incision, clay pendants or earrings, stone adzes, animal bones and bivalve shells were collected by the excavations (Cabanilla 1972, Aoyagi 1977, Thiel 1989). The chronological studies were continued through 1970乫s, and it was recognized that those shell middens produced two types of potteries, Red-slipped and Black pottery, and that these potteries were never found together from the same cultural layer (Aoyagi 1981, Aoyagi and Tanaka 1985).

From 1986, National Museum started the extensive explorations on the Lower Cagayan River about 40 km upriver from the river mouth. Data from the shell middens such as size, depth, location, artifacts and ecofacts derived from each site were collected during the exploration (Ogawa and Aguilera 1992). The excavations were also conducted in the three sites, Catayauan, Magapit and San Lorenzo (Aoyagi, Aguilera, Ogawa and Tanaka 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, Aoyagi, Ogawa and Tanaka 1998). Twenty one shell middens containing the archaeological materials are recognized along the Lower Cagayan River and coastal sand dune by the research. Beside this lowland exploration, the hinterland exploration did not carry out until 1996 because of the political situation of the area. Artifacts collected from the surface of these sites indicate the several cultural phases among those shell midden sites. The results of pottery analyses indicate that shell middens which produce the red-slipped pottery don乫t produce black pottery at the same time; Magapit shell middens produce red-slipped pottery with decorations, but the river bank shell middens produce black pottery.

The excavation of Catayauan shell midden was conducted for the data collection of ecofacts; faunal and floral remains. It was also conducted for the reconstruction of depositional process of shell midden formation, revealing each shell deposit, layer by layer. Each shell layers revealed were processed by water separation and floatation to collect the ecofacts like animal bones and plant remains. Different species of shells were counted by each piece and percentage of materials revealed from each layer was calculated (Table 2). Beside these ecofacts, artifacts revealed were only black potteries in small fragments. The results of Catayauan excavation delineated the characteristics of shell midden formation and its possible depositional process by the disposal of food stuffs and utensils of prehistoric people(Aoyagi, Aguilera, Ogawa and Tanaka 1988). But new question came out from the results of the excavation; Did the prehistoric people utilize those huge amount of shell only for their food stuffs? Ethnoarchaeological research of the present shell gathering in Catayauan had conducted after the excavation (Ogawa 1997).

In the perspectives of prehistoric cultural relationships with other areas in South China Sea like Taiwan, South China and Vietnam, Stone and Clay pendants excavated from the Hill Top site of Magapit shell middens show its similarities in typology and dating (Aoyagi, Aguilera, Ogawa and Tanaka 1991). Also the same inquiries were made about the red-slipped pottery from Magapit site by Oceanic archaeologists in the relationship with Lapita pottery (Kirch 1997:48). For the study of cultural relationships with adjacent area, further research and more data are needed, but the significance of our results are recognized. Shell Middens in Southeast Asia and South China had been the major issue of study for archaeologists belonging to the Japan Society for Southeast Asian Archaeology since 1992 to 1993, and they recognized its importance. Especially, Lal-lo Shell Middens are noticed as one of the biggest shell middens in Southeast Asia and South China (2).

Another three years research in the Lal-lo area was started from 1995. The explorations and excavations were continued and another shell middens were excavated in the villages of Catayauan, Santa Maria, Bangag, San Lorenzo and Catugan, on the both sides of the Cagayan River (Ogawa 1998, Tanaka 1997a, b, 1998). The research area was also extended to the limestone hilly area adjacent to river bank lowland area. Mabangog Cave excavation is the first excavation of our project in the hilly area of Lal-lo. By the excavations of river bank shell middens, four cultural phases are recognized. Two cultural phases were already recognized as red-slipped pottery and black pottery by the former studies of Lal-lo shell middens. Another two cultural phases were recognized at the river bank shell middens. Red-slipped pottery without decoration was found in silty clay layer under the shell midden. Also black pottery cultural phase was devided into two phases by typological analyses (Ogawa 1998).

The analyses of data from the excavations of this field term (1995-97) are not yet fully finished. This preliminary report of Mabangog Cave excavation is also limited in analyses, but for the study of prehistoric interdependent relationships between hunter-gatherers and farmers in this area, this is the first step to collect data in the hilly area of Lal-lo.

1. Research objectives.

The research area of our project had been, so far, limited to the river bank shell middens. But one of our objective of the research project is to interpret and explain the economic, social and political relationships of prehistoric people occupying the different micro-environments and having the different technological background, like hunter-gatherers and farmers. When we started the Lal-lo archaeological project since 1986, the question arises what is the reason why the hunter-gatherers still exist until the present day in this area together with other people of the different subsistence background. Karl Hutterer suggested the possibility that the different groups having the different technological background, like hunter-gatherers and farmers, had existed contemporaneously in one area with the economic and social interdependent relationships even in the prehistoric time (Hutterer 1976). In the research area, so-called Negrito people, locally called Agta or Ita people, are living in the hinterland of Cagayan River alluvial plain, and established the economic and social relationships with lowland farmers. Same situation of hunter-gatherer/farmer exchange of food stuffs and labor was reported in the Sierra Madre Mountain, in Cagayan and Isaberra Province (Peterson 1978, Peterson and Peterson 1977, Hutterer 1982, Headland 1986). How had the economic and social mechanism of this hunter-gatherers/farmer relationships elaborated and continued from the prehistoric time to the recent? It must be one of the biggest problems not only in our research project, but also in Southeast Asian archaeology.

This problem has a long history of discussion in Southeast Asian archaeology. Isolate model for this problem was presented by Heine Gelderun(1932). The reason why hunter-gatherers continuously exist until present day was explained by the isolation from the influences of outsiders who had more developed technology. Hutterer appreciates Heine Gelderun乫s endeavor to explain the present situation of the contemporaneous existence of hunter-gatherer and farmer. But he denied the isolate model, because inter-social relationships or economic exchange was observed in many cases of the Philippine Negritos (Huterer 1976). Peterson and Peterson brought the inter-social relationships observed between hunter-gatherers and farmers into the prehistoric situation and presented the exchange adaptation model (1977). Headland and Bailey individually presented the question of scarcity of carbohydrate food in tropical rain forest, and advocate that if hunter-gatherers had no relationships with farmers, they could not find their way to rain forest. They proposed the interdependence model of tropical rain forest hunter-gatherers with farmers(Headland and Reid 1989, Headland and Bailey 1991). These archaeologists and anthropologists working in the Philippines have delineated the prehistoric relationships between hunter-gatherers and farmers in the perspective of interdependence or mutualism for last two decades. But this model or hypotheses have never tested by the archaeological materials. Our project in Lal-lo area is conducted to collect data and approach to this problem for the testing of these hypotheses.

We started at first, for this purpose, to excavate the different shell middens on the Cagayan River bank. It is for the establishment of local chronology by the archaeological materials. And for the comparison of archaeological data between lowland and hilly area, we started from 1996 to explore the archaeological sites in the inland or hilly area on the east bank of the Cagayan River. The excavation of Mabangog Cave is the first step of our project to collect data from the hilly area behind the lowland area of Lal-lo.

2. Location of the cave.

The cave is situated on the limestone formation hill about 40 meters above M.S.L., about four kilometers away from the Cagayan River bank. The cave is surrounded by the secondary forest which deforested in 1950乫s. The vegetation is changed to the secondary forest by the slash and burn cultivation after the deforestation. Around the cave, the cassava was planted in summer 1996, but the field was overrun with weeds when the excavation was conducted in 1997. The shrubs are scattered in grassland, cogon bush. The limestone formation run from north to south in this area. Covered by the vegetation, caves are formed in the limestone formation.

The opening of cave can be recognized from the provincial road started from Magapit to the northward, Gonzaga. The houses are built along the road. But the density of settlement is low and the population of the Mabangog village is about 600. The subsistence of the village is mostly the swidden cultivation. Almost 40 years since the people started to settle here after the deforestation by logging, people continue their subsistence of swidden cultivation and collect forest products like rattan or fire wood to sell at the market of Lal-lo Centro or Magapit. Ita people, Negritos, hunter-gatherers are also living vis-à-vis with those farmers, and utilizing same secondary forest together. Ita people are also living this hilly area to cultivate like corn, cassava, and collecting rattan and fire wood for sale in the market. The provincial road was under construction to broaden and cement during our excavation, and will be a short cut to go to the Port Ailine at Santa Ana, which is newly constructed international port. When it will be constructed, the economic and social condition of this village will greatly change; population and settlement, socio-economic relationships between farmers and hunter-gatherers must be changed.

The entrance of cave is situated 35 meters east from the provincial road (Fig. 1). At the outside of the cave mouth, the relative gentle slope was formed. The spring water comes out from limestone at six meters below the entrance of cave. The water of spring becomes small stream and people utilize this water for daily life.

3. Dimension and characteristics of the Mabangog Cave.

Mabangog Cave has the relatively small dimension (Fig. 2, 3). The entrance is measured 7.25 meters wide and 2.85 meters high. The cave has two chambers, main chamber extends to eastward and 20.65 meters long. The chamber 2 has a small entrance hole which cannot go through, but the inside has a ceiling high enough to stand up and can be measured about six to seven meters deep. The width of cave is six to seven meters, and the cave keeps the width constantly until the deeper portion. The height is two to 2.5 meters unless the stalactite prevent us to arise. The stalactite grows from the ceiling and the floor is covered by the stalagmite in the cave, but at the entrance, both of them are heavily damaged. This is caused by frequent use of cave for local people乫s activities such as sawing or shed. Therefore the sawdust and water buffalo乫s foot prints were observed on the floor. Three hearths were observed near the entrance and the ceiling above the hearth is sooty. The broken bottles were discarded near the wall. The inner portion of cave was not heavily damaged, and the stalagmite is developed on the floor, the broken bottles of glass were scattered along the wall. But the most violent damage of cave is the treasure hunters hole dug near the entrance(Fig. 2). The diameter of this hole is about three meters, and is dug until the surface of limestone bedrock, but a small hole of 80 centimeters diameter was dug into the bedrock, two meters deep. Total cave area of floor has about 200噓.

4. Method of excavation.

The excavation of Mabangog Cave started from the making agreement with Department of Energy and Natural Resources(DNR). All the caves are under the management of Natural Museum and DNR, the former is in charge of cultural resources and the latter supervises the ecological resources. Usually the research can begin as long as either one or the other notify of its start. But it was the first case to conduct the cave excavation in Lal-lo Project, therefore, we started to examine the cooperation with DNR officers before the excavation. Consequently we came to an agreement, and two officers of DNR of Region II(Northern Luzon) were sent to the cave as observers. The contents of agreement in detail concern to the research method, dimension of excavated area, duration of research, restoration after the excavation and report submission. And the excavation area was also decided for four噓 to limit the least damage to the cave. To make good use of this area for excavation, two excavation spots of 2 x 1 meters were set in the different spot. After the 2 x 2 meters grid system was set by the surveying of cave, the excavation area was set at the both side of the hole disturbed by the treasure hunters (Square 8 and 17, Fig. 2).

The excavation was started from the digging of disturbed hole to observe the stratigraphy of natural layer at the periphery of hole. Unexpectedly the natural soil deposit was not thick, about 30 to 40 centimeters, and reached to the bedrock. Observing the stratum, the excavation began to dig the soil deposit remained about one square meters between disturbed hole and Square 17. This area corresponds to Square 10. After the excavation of Square 10, we proceeded to Square 17 and Square 8. The excavation of each square were performed to remove each layer of natural stratum. If the thickness of one layer would be over ten centimeters, the layer was divided into two portions(Spit 1 and 2). The materials revealed were recorded by its layer and spit numbers.

Both artifacts and ecofacts revealed were recorded its stratigraphy. All the soil dug were processed to pass through a 7 mm mesh screen to recover the small materials. All the materials(pot sheds, stone flakes, shells and bones) were segregated by the category and put in each bag together with cards recorded its layer and square numbers. The artifacts were washed and dried in laboratory, classified into the different categories. The water floatation spots (20 x 20 centimeters) were set in each excavation square and the soil samples were collected by each layer. The charcoal samples for C14 dating were also collected during the excavation. The research term of Mabangog Cave was from August 21 to September second.

5. Stratigraphy丗

The soil stratigraphy observed in the excavated area of Square 8 and 17 is basically similar. Their major division of the strata is as follows (from the top to the bottom);

Surface : Humus, 7.5YR 3/3, decomposing organic materials.

Layer I : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing small fragments of shells,

limestone and stone flakes (chert and limestone).

Layer II : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing many shells (bivalve and

conical ), limestone and stone flakes (chert and limestone).

Bedrock : Limestone bedrock.

丂The details of stratigraphy of each square will be explained later.

6. Excavation of Squares

Square 17

Before to begin the excavation of Square 17, the remained portion of Square 10 between Square 17 and the margin of disturbed hole was excavated. The area of Square 10 excavated was about one噓. After that, the west half of Square 17 was excavated(2噓). At the following report, Square 10 and 17 are reported together, but the table of materials shows these two squares separately (Table 1).

Stratigraphy:

Square 17 is set at the six meters inner from the entrance and adjacent to the north wall of cave(Fig. 2). As shown at the figure , The west half of Square 17, 2 x 1 meter square was excavated. The stratum of Square 17 was thick at the north wall of cave, attaining to the depth of 40 centimeters. But at the east wall of Square 17, the stratum was only 20 centimeters thick(Fig. 4). Further, the stratigraphic profile of west wall showed 40 centimeters of thickness at the north and 30 centimeters of thickness at the south. Therefore, the surface of the Square 17 showed the inclination from the north to the south and from the west to the east. The major division of strata of this square is as follows(from the top to the bottom);

Surface : Humus, Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), decomposing organic materials.

Layer I : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing small fragments of shells,

limestone and earthenware sherds and stone flakes (chert, andesite and limestone).

Layer II : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing many shells (bivalve and

conical ), limestone and earthenware sherds and stone flakes (chert and limestone).

Bedrock : Limestone bedrock.

Soil characteristics is almost same in these cultural layers, blackish brown color and hard and dry soil. Archaeological materials were revealed from the Layer I and II. The difference between these two cultural layers derived from the amount of materials. Artifacts and ecofacts were revealed from both two cultural layers, but the amount of these materials is bigger in Layer II than Layer I. These materials revealed are bivalve shell (locally called Kabibi), conical shells( locally called Agurung), animal bones, red-slipped pottery sherds, chert, andesite and limestone flakes. Shells from Layer I are mostly fragmental and scattering sparsely, but the ones from Layer II have complete shape and form the shell midden. Also the artifacts like chert flakes and large fragment of earthenware sherds are rich in Layer II.

Features:

The significant feature was not revealed from Square 17, but the possibly burnt portion on the bedrock was found near the east wall of square. This portion has about 40 centimeters diameter. It can not be estimated as the trace of hearth because the charcoal, fired soil and ash were not found during the excavation.

Artifacts:

The artifacts of Square 17 were revealed from the layers of Surface, Layer I Spit 1, Layer I Spit 2 and Layer II. These artifacts are classified as chert flake, limestone flake, red-slipped pottery sherd, animal bones and teeth, fresh water bivalve shell and conical shell. The table 1 shows its distribution.

The chert flakes are revealed 20 pieces from the lower portion, Layer I, Spit 2 and Layer II. Andesite flake is found only one piece from Layer I, Spit 1. Dacite flake also revealed one piece from Layer I, Spit 2. Limestone flakes were discovered five pieces from Layer II, but it is difficult to estimate whether these limestone flakes were used as stone tool or not. So far, as there is no example of limestone flake tool found in the Philippines, further study is needed for the estimation as the stone tool(there are instances of limestone flake tools in Thai and Malaysia). All of these flakes have the amorphous shape and its small size(length and width are within less than five centimeters). To recognize these flakes as tools, the technological studies of flaking and functional studies on size, position/angle/use-wear of edges are needed.

Red-slipped pottery found from Layer I and II are all fragmental in different size. These sherds have no decorations like dot punctuation or incision which are characteristics of red-slipped pottery from Magapit site. The feature of Mabangog Cave red-slipped pottery is similar to the one from the Cagayan River bank sites like Santa Maria, Catugan, San Lorenzo and Bangag rather than Magapit. Although the red-slipped pottery of the river bank sites are found from the silty clay layer under the shell midden, the red-slipped pottery sheds of Mabangog Cave are revealed from the shell layers. The shell species of Mabangog Cave are same as the ones from the river bank shell middens.

The datings of these two cultural layers of red-slipped pottery are not available yet and it is not sure yet that the characteristics of those two red-slipped potteries are same. But if these two red-slipped potteries would be belonged to the same cultural phase, another question comes out; why Mabangog Cave people could gather shells when the river bank people could not gather shells from Cagayan River ? and where did Mabangog people gather shells ? When the Lower Cagayan River formed the swamp, fresh water shells could not inhabit there, and could not be gathered as mentioned at the chapter of geological settings. The river bank shell middens could be formed after when the swampy ecological condition changed to fluvial. But the Mabangog red-slipped pottery revealed from the shell midden formed by the fresh water shells, and the shell species are same from the river bank shell middens. Did Mabangog Cave people had gathered the fresh water shells at the tributary of Cagayan River when the river bank people could not collect shells from the Cagayan River ? The similarities and differences of cultural materials and ecological settings of the archaeological sites must be further studied for the red-slipped potteries among different sites and the palaeoenvironmental data.

Square 8

The west half of Square 8, 2 x 1 meters, 2噓, was excavated. After this excavation, the remained area of east half of Square 8 (1噓) was revealed (Fig. 2). Total area excavated is almost 3噓. Table 1 shows the distribution of artifacts and ecofacts from these two areas(Table 1).

Stratigraphy:

The thickness of soil from surface to the bedrock is thin, 15 to 20 centimeters. Their major division of the strata is as follows(from the top to the bottom, Fig. 5);

Surface : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry. This soil remained only at the northeast

corner of the Square 8, but almost the Square was covered by yellowish brown soil containing ash and charcoal. At the west half of the Square 8, this yellowish brown soil reached until the surface of Layer II. This soil is estimated as the disturbance by the recent activities at the entrance of cave. 丂丂

Layer I : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing small fragments of shells,

limestone fragments and stone flakes (chert limestone). The west half of the Square 8 was covered by the yellowish brown soil.

Layer II : Blackish brown silty clay soil (7.5YR 3/3), hard and dry, containing many shells (bivalve and

conical ), limestone fragments and stone flakes (chert and limestone). Earthenware sherds revealed are very limited. This layer covered all the area of the Square 8.

Layer III : Mixture of limestone and brown soil (10YR 6/6). This layer was observed at the south end of the

Square 8. This portion must be the transitional part of the bedrock and soil deposit. Cultural materials are sterile.

Bedrock : Limestone bedrock.

The matrix of soil in Square 8 is also composed by the blackish brown silty clay, same as the one in Square 17. Layer I contained the shell fragments like Kabibi and Agurung. Layer II is formed by the mixed layer of blackish brown silty clay soil and shells. The disturbed layer covered the surface and reached to the Layer I. The thickness of soil stratigraphy of Square 8 is 15 to 20 centimeters from the surface to the bedrock.

Feature:

The feature was not recognized in this Square 8.

Artifacts:

The artifacts from Square 8 are same as revealed from Square 17, such as chert flake, limestone flake, red-slipped pottery sherd, animal bones and teeth, fresh water bivalve shell and conical shell. The charcoal samples were collected for C14 dating from this square, otherwise the Square 17 did not produced. The table 1 shows its distribution.

17 chert flakes, 20 limestone flakes and one basalt flake were revealed from this square. For the estimation of these flakes as the stone tools, the technological and functional analyses are needed as mentioned above.

In contrast with the affluent stone flakes, only one piece of pottery sherd were collected from the Square 8. Square 17, only four meters away from the Square 8, produced the abundant red-slipped pottery sherds. The scarcity of pottery shreds in the Square 8 could not be happened only by the disturbance of the excavation area. The Layer II had still the ten centimeters thickness of stratum and covered all over the square. So, what is the reason for this scarcity of pottery sherds in the Square 8 ? We don乫t have enough answer for this problem at this moment, but it would be predicted that this situation was caused by the functional difference of places for the activities in the cave; at the entrance, near the Square 8, the activities were performed frequently, therefore the pottery sherds or other kind of refuse were discarded to the outside of the cave or the cave wall. This prediction must be tested by the results of further studies and analyses of materials revealed.

7. Summary and Discussion

Even the limited excavation area of this Mabangog Cave research, about five square meters, many information are obtained. The location of Mabangog cave is different from the river bank sites which have been researched. So far, our researches were concentrated on the shell middens located on the river bank, about five to seven meters above M.S.L.. From 1996, we started the research of the hinterland of the alluvial plain of the river to intend to find the archaeological sites which have the different characteristics of the artifacts, features and settlements in the different ecological settings. The site exploration performed in 1996 could find the three shell middens, situated in the paddy field, two kilometers away from the Cagayan River bank, about seven meters above M.S.L.. But we could not find the archaeological sites located on the limestone hill area, eastward from the river bank, about 30 to 50 meters above M.S.L.. The Mabangog Cave was found incidentally by the Geology and Palinology group in the limestone hill area of 40 meters above M.S.L.. The results of the excavation are as follows;

1. This is the first excavation of the cave site in the project area. The location of the cave is on the limestone hill about 40 meters above M.S.L.. Two excavation areas were set near the entrance, and its total area was about 6噓.

2. The thickness of soil stratigraphy was thin, 20 to 40 centimeters until the bedrock. The lower layer contained the shell species same as found at the river bank shell middens. The artifacts such as stone flakes, pottery sherds, animal bones were revealed from shell midden.

3. The feature was not recognized clearly.

4. All the stone flakes revealed have the amorphous shape and the size is less than five centimeters. The chert flakes were discovered mainly from the lower layers of Square 8 and 17. The only one andesite flake was found at the upper layer of Square 17. Other stone flakes revealed are the each one basalt and dacite flake. The limestone flakes also found and its amount is next to the chert flakes. The estimation of limestone flakes as stone tool is needed the technological studies of flaking and the functional studies on size, position/angle/use-wear of edges.

5. The red-slipped pottery sherds were found both from the Square 8 and 17, but the Square 8 produced the only one piece of pottery sherd. The pottery sherds have not the decoration of punctuation and incision. This characteristic is similar to the pottery from the river bank sites, not similar to the one from the Magapit shell middens.

The specific problems could be extracted from the results of excavation. We will discuss on the problems later, but before that, it would be helpful to summarize the context of the materials revealed for the extraction of the specific problems. For this work, the artifacts must be considered in the chronological and ecological context of all the research area.

1. Red-slipped pottery sherds, stone flakes and fresh water shells were revealed from the same cultural layer in the Mabangog Cave. This is the first incident in the Lal-lo Shell Middens.

2. So far, the red-slipped pottery were recognized at Magapit shell middens located on the river side limestone hill, and at Bangag, Santa Maria, San Lorenzo and Catugan sites on the river bank (Tanaka 1997a, 1998). This time, the red- slipped pottery was discovered also at Mabangog Cave.

3. The red-slipped pottery from Mabangog Cave has not the decoration like the punctuation or incision and the forms of pottery are jar and footed vessel. The red- slipped pottery with no decoration was also found at the sites on the river bank, but this was not revealed from the shell layer, but the silty clay layer under the shell midden. On the other hand, the red-slipped pottery from Magapit sites has the decoration of punctuation and incision on jars and footed vessels, and revealed from the shell layer. Even though the difference on the decorations, the shapes of rim sherds of the jars and footed vessels are recognized the similarity.

4. Beside from Mabangog Cave, the chert flakes were discovered from the silty clay layer of Santa Maria site. The number of the flakes are only five, but these flakes are associated with the red-slipped pottery (Ogawa 1998). At the other sites, so far, the chert flakes have not been revealed in the Lal-lo shell middens.

5. The similarity of Mabangog Cave site and Santa Maria site is the evidence of the red-slipped pottery and the stone flakes, but the difference between two sites is that these artifacts were revealed from the shell midden in Mabangog Cave, but in Santa Maria from the silty clay layer.

The first question arises from the association of the artifacts and shell; As mentioned above, it would not yet be positively proved that the red-slipped pottery from Mabangog Cave has the same characteristics to the ones from the river bank. But if it could be proved that these red-slipped pottery belonged to the same cultural phase, why was the shell midden formed in Mabangog Cave while the shell middens had not been formed at the river bank sites ? And further the second question is, as examined at the chapter on geological settings, where did the Mabangog Cave people had gathered shells while the river bank people could not gather the shells at the Cagayan River because of the swampy ecological and geological settings at the lower river where the shells could not inhabit ? At present, the fresh water shells like Kabibi which formed the shell middens in Mabangog Cave does not inhabit in the tributaries of the Cagayan River. But it can not answer whether the Kabibi had inhabited in the tributaries at the prehistoric time or not. For the answer of these two questions, the datings of cultural layers and the further analysis on the red-slipped potteries both from Mabangog Cave and Santa Maria sites must to be needed.

Secondary, it would like to take notice of the association of the red-slipped pottery and stone flakes. Until the excavation of Mabangog Cave, the flake assemblage had not been found in the Lal-lo Project area, even the possible material resources could be existed richly in the limestone formation area. In the Penablanca Caves and Rock-shelters sites, 80km southward of Lal-lo, it is already known that the pottery and the stone assemblage were associated in one cultural layer. In this field season (1997), the stone flakes were revealed with the association of the red-slipped pottery in the Santa Maria site in the silty clay layer. But the number of the flakes revealed were very limited, only five pieces, so that it can not recognize as a assemblage. On the other hand, in the Mabangog Cave, almost 50 pieces of chert flakes and other stone flakes were discovered from the limited excavation area. This is the first stone flake assemblage found in the Lal-lo Project area, especially at the limestone hill area, same location as the Penablanca Cave sites (Ronquillo 1981, Ogawa 1984), and also associated with the red-slipped pottery. Aside from the Santa Maria site, the river bank shell middens didn乫t produce so far the stone flakes even a small number of evidence. If the excavations of the silty clay layer under the shell middens on the river bank will be performed in a near future, there is the possibility to be revealed the stone flakes. But its amount will be limited like Santa Maria stone flakes. Contrary to the stone flakes, it can not say that the amount of the red-slipped pottery in the Mabangog Cave is so rich like in the Santa Maria site.

Then, the conditions of similarities and differences on the association these two kind of artifacts can be summarized as follows; the same association of artifacts but the different location and the different amount or ratio, the association with shells and no shells. The second question would be made; Is it able to seek the reasons of these conditions for the difference of the ecological settings between the river bank and the hilly area ? Answering to this question, the working hypothesis will be presented as follows;

1. The different human groups with the different technological background and different way of environmental exploitation existed contemporaneously and utilized exclusively the environment around the site.

2. And these two groups had the economic, social and political relationships through the exchange.

3. One human group had used these two ecological settings properly.

These hypotheses can not be tested by the archaeological data at this moment, but in a near future, must be tested through the analyses of artifacts, ecofacts and datings.

Notes.

1: Two C14dating are available in Magapit Hill Top Site:2,800亇140BP乮N-5396丆half life:5,730擭, 2,760亇125BP乮N-5397, half life:5,730擭乯, one in Catayauan:1,060亇290BP(N-5398, half life:5,730擭).

2: The results of these shell midden studies in Southeast Asia and South China were reported in the volumes of the Journal of Southeast Asian Archaeology No. 13 and 14.

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