North of the Southern Arc - The Mindoro archaeological research program: A summary of the 2010 and 2011 fieldwork activities

This paper presents some preliminary results from a research project designed to identify, for the first time, prehistoric occupation sites in Mindoro Occidental, Philippines. The aim of the project was to identify cave and rocksheiter sites with potential to contain undisturbed Pleistocene deposits and thus the prospect to enhance knowledge about the earliest settlement history of modern humans in Southeast Asia. Over the course of the project a number of previously unknown prehistoric sites have been recorded in the karst limestone regions on the islands of Mindoro and llin. The results of the first test excavations indicate that there is high potential for the recovery of archaeological remains that will provide exciting new insights into Holocene and Pleistocene colonisation and economies, as well as the timing of early settlement episodes in the Philippines. This project now forms the basis for future collaborative work in the region.