Tabon Man Readings, Robert Fox vs William Henry Scott

comparison

1. RobertB.Fox.TheTabonCaves:ArchaeologicalExplorationsandExcavationsonPalawan
Island,Philippines(Manila,1970)p.40.
TabonMan–DuringtheinitialexcavationsofTabonCave,JuneandJuly,1962,the
scatteredfossilbonesofatleastthreeindividualswereexcavated,includingalarge
fragmentofafrontalbonewiththebrowsandportionsofthenasalbones.Thesefossil
boneswererecoveredtowardstherearofthecavealongtheleftwall.Unfortunately,the
areainwhichthehumanfossilboneswerediscoveredhadbeendisturbedbyMegapode
birds.Itwasnotpossiblein1962toestablishtheassociationoftheseboneswithaspecific
flakeassemblage.AlthoughtheywereprovisionallyrelatedtoeitherFlakeAssemblageIIor
III,subsequentexcavationsinthesameareanowstronglysuggestthatthefossilhuman
boneswereassociatedwithFlakeAssemblageIIIforonlytheflakesofthisassemblagehave
beenfoundtodateinthisareaofthecave.TheavailabledatawouldsuggestthatTabon
Manmaybedatedfrom22,000to24,000yearsago.But,onlyfurtherexcavationsinthe
caveandchemicalanalysisofhumanandanimalbonesfromdisturbedandundisturbed
levelsinthecavewilldefinetheexactageofthehumanfossils.

2. ThefossilbonesarethoseofHomosapiens.Thesewillforma
separatestudybyaspecialistwhichwillbeincludedinthe
finalsitereportforTabonCave.Itisimportanthowever,
becauseofarecentpublication(Scott,1969),thata
preliminarystudyofthefossilbonesofTabonManshows
thatitisaboveaverageinskulldimensionswhencompared
tothemodernFilipino.ThereisnoevidencethatTabonMan
was“alessbrainyindividual….”(Scott(1969)36).Moreover,
Scott’sstudyincludesmanymisstatementsabouttheTabon
Caves,alwaystheproblemwhenwritersworkfrom
“conversations”.

3. WilliamHenryScott,PrehispanicSourceMaterialsfortheStudyofPhilippine
History(RevisedEdition)(QuezonCity,1984),pp.14-15.
TabonMan–TheearliesthumanskullremainsknowninthePhilippinesarethe
fossilizedfragmentsofaskullandjawboneofthreeindividualswhoarecollectively
called“TabonMan”aftertheplacewheretheywerefoundonthewestcoastof
Palawan.TabonCaveappearstobeakindoflittleStoneAgefactory:bothfinished
toolsandwastecoresandflakeshavebeenfoundatfourdifferentlevelsinthemain
chamber.Charcoalleftfromcookingfireshasbeenrecoveredfromthreeofthese
assemblagesanddatedbyC-14toroughly7,000B.C.,20,000B.C.,and28,000B.C.
withanearlierlevellyingsofarbelowthesethatitmustrepresentUpper
Pleistocenedateslike45or50thousandyearsago….Physicalanthropologistswho
haveexaminedtheTabonskullcapareagreedthatitbelongedtomodernman–
thatis,Homosapiensasdistinguishedfromthosemid-Pleistocenespecies
nowadayscalledHomoerectus.

4. Twoexpertshavegiventhefurtheropinionthatthemandibleis
“Australian”inphysicaltype,andthattheskullcapmeasurements
aremostlynearlylikethoseofAinusandTasmanians.Whatthis
basicallymeansisthattheTabonManwas“pre-Mongoloid,”
Mongoloidbeingthetermanthropologistsapplytotheracial
stockwhichenteredSoutheastAsiaduringtheHoloceneand
absorbedearlierpeoplestoproducethemodernMalay,
Indonesian,Filipinos,andPacificpeoplespopularly–and
unscientificallycalled,“thebrownrace.”TabonManpresumably
belongedtooneofthoseearlierpeoples,but,ifdecentlyclothed
inflesh,T-shirt,andbluejeans,mightpassunnoticedinQuiapo
today,whateverhisfacialfeaturesareconcerned,nothingcanbe
saidaboutthecolorofhisskinorhair,ortheshapeofhisnoseor
eyes–exceptonething:TabonManwasnotaNegrito.