Diorama 2: Palawan Tabon Caves, Circa 50,000-6,000 BC

Modern man, Homo sapiens sapiens, made his appearance in the Philippines more than 50,000 years ago. Toward the end of the Ice age, the sea started to rise with the melting of the ice caps, which began about 10,000 to 30,000 years ago.

Located in Lipuun Point on the central and western side of Palawan, overlooking the South China Sea, Tabon Cave is only one of the many caves collectively known as the Tabon Caves. It is periodically dry, and is well lighted throughout the day, especially in the afternoon, since it faces west.

The cave was continuously inhabited for about 50,000 years of the Late Pleistocene even at a time when the coastal water was just some 30 kilometers away. It was in this cave that the jaw bone of an orangutan was found, evidencing the presence of a land bridge that connected Palawan to Borneo. The earliest human fossil, a Homo sapiens sapiens, was also found there—the skill cap, mandible, and dentition of the Tabon Man who was actually a woman. The fossils were initially thought to be about 23,000 years old.