Iron Age artifacts unearthed during Cebu field school

An archaeological dig in the Philippines for students of the University of Guam has uncovered a treasure trove of Iron Age artifacts that date back to more than a thousand years ago.

“Burials, pots and other artifacts were uncovered that date back to the Iron Age, which spans the centuries from a thousand to 1,500 years ago,” said John Peterson, director of UOG’s Micronesian Area Research Center. “Also discovered is what we believe to be a ceramic lingling-o pendant, which is a fertility symbol.”

Cebu was the first seat of the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines and the field school aimed, in part, to document the impact of Spanish colonization on indigenous life-ways in the shadow of the parish church in San Remigio.

The University of Guam offered the summer 2011 archaeological field school in Cebu in collaboration with the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines, San Carlos University, and the National Museum of the Philippines. The field school provided participants intensive training in archaeological site excavation, mapping, and artifact analysis and interpretation as well as training in landscape analysis.

According to the Philippine Presidential Communications Operations Office, the artifacts are being brought to Museo sa Sugbu located at the provincial capital because San Remigio does not have a museum. However, the San Remigio mayor recently announced city officials’ plans to build a museum to house the artifacts.

Students learned archaeological field techniques by working in real field conditions in collaboration with students and staff from the U.S. mainland, the Philippines, and the Luce Asian Archaeology Program Fellows of the Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii-Manoa.

The project is co-directed by Dr. Stephen Acabado, assistant professor of anthropological archaeology, and Dr. John Peterson, director of the Micronesian Area Research Center. They worked with their colleagues from the University of the Philippines, the National Museum of the Philippines, and the University of San Carlos.

“Students acquired hands-on archaeological field expertise,” said Acabado. “I hope that the combination of field work and socializing with descendant communities will provide them with the concept of social responsibility needed by social scientists.” [B][I](UOG)[/I][/B]