A Northern Cebu Archaeological project starts, to aid Cebu’s heritage preservation

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – An archaeological survey and excavation have started in San Remigio and other parts of Northern Cebu Monday, July 12 as part of the two-year Norther Cebu Archaeological Project to preserve the Cebuano heritage with the use of modern archaeology.

 

  

(Archaeological digging site in San Remigio, Cebu with Professor Jojo Bernales explaining the findings.)

Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. through its President and COO Maribeth Marasigan granted the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) P2-Million donation to support its archeological heritage preservation initiatives in Cebu.

“As we remain grounded in our Cebuano roots, we in the Aboitiz Group are proud to partner with the National Museum of the Philippines and the University of San Carlos for this groundbreaking archaeological initiative to preserve the Cebuano heritage,” Marasigan said.

The Northern Cebu Archeological Project is a joint initiative of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI) in collaboration with the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu that aims to establish a protocol and methodology for systematic archaeological studies in Cebu.

“We’re excited to have the support of the Aboitiz Foundation and the National Museum of the Philippines to conduct intensive field studies in north Cebu. Previous work has always been scattered and unfocused; this gives us a very systematic way to survey archaeological sites,” Northern Cebu Archaeological Project 2021 Principal Investigator, Dr. John Peterson said.

  
According to NMP Director-General Jeremy Barns that this archaeological project is believed to be a game-changer for the NMP as it seeks new modes of engagement with its partners in the field of archaeology while dealing with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It makes sense to work with local experts in the field while we continue to protect our own archaeologists by not putting them at risk in sending them where archaeological activities will be taking place. This will also promote more local archaeologists by supporting capacities and strengthening cooperation,” Barns said.

The two-year project is scheduled in four phases. Towards the last phase of the project, collected cultural resources will be launched publicly through an exhibition that will piece the stories of those sites in the forthcoming National Museum Central Visayas Regional Museum in Cebu, Barns added.

Through the project, a template for continuing studies and resources to archive and preserve data of archaeological sites and landscapes will be developed. The project’s primary objective is to develop a geospatial database to record all archeological sites and resources in Cebu using state-of-the-art archeological methods and applications, the NMP statement said.

 

(Badian, site of plio-pleistocene land surface and tektite discoveries. Photo # 2:Tektites such as can be found in the Carcar Formation that appears in Badian but also throughout North Cebu. These objects are from a 700,000 years old meteor splashdown that scattered throughout the region, and are coeval in the landscape with very ancient humans and fossil animals such as stegodon and rhinoceros. Photo #3: Unidentified earthenware artifact associated with one of the burials recovered at the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church site in San Remigio, Cebu in 2012.)

 It also aims to produce a comprehensive catalogue of archeological findings in Cebu especially those belonging to the Metal Age.  This catalogue shall be a useful reference for further studies, for the development of a comprehensive preservation program, and for crafting sustainable information dissemination program through local and international publications.

Despite the existing quarantines and travel restrictions, the NMP Project Team led by Deputy Director-General for Museums Dr. Ana P. Labrador, assisted by Ms. Alexandra de Leon of the Archaeology Division, decided to move forward to implement the project with Cebu-based archaeologists Drs. John Peterson and J. Eleazar Bersales, of the USC Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History. (Photos: AFI/Google Images)

(Graduate students from the University of San Carlos, University of Guam, University of Hawaii and the University of the Philippines who participated in the second archaeological field season at San Remigio, Cebu in 2012.)