Archaeological Excavations of the Well-Stratified Shell Midden Site (M. Dumbrique Site) from the Neolithic to the Metal Age in Lal-lo, Cagayan and Tribute to Dr. Eusebio Z. Dizon

TANAKA Kazuhiko1* and Ame M. Garong2

The late Dr. Eusebio Z. Dizon had long been concerned with well-stratified layers in his excavations of the archaeological sites since his early excavation of Tigkiw na Saday site in Sorsogon Province, southern Luzon, in the 1970s (Dizon 1979). Our archaeological excavation of the M. Dumbrique site of the Catugan shell midden in Lal-lo, Cagayan, northern Luzon, revealed three shell layers (Layers II - IV) of the Metal Age and three soil layers (Layers Va - Vc) of the Neolithic beneath the shell layers. This paper presents the results of archaeological research jointly conducted by Kazuhiko Tanaka and Ame M. Garong from 2019 to 2026 financially supported by JSPS. The main results of our excavations are threefold; 1) the identification of three soil layers from the Neolithic and three shell layers from the Metal Age, 2) the discovery of Metal Age burials associated with a metal tool, probably a weapon, in the shell layers, and 3) the discovery of many artifacts such as pottery, glass beads, a bone tool and an iron tool, as well as ecofacts such as animal bones, fish bones and plant seeds. These were found together with the human skeletal remains from the burials in the shell layers (Layers II - IV). Artifacts such as pottery and stone adzes were also recovered from the soil layers (Layers Va - Vc). The C14 date of Layer IV is 1900 ±30 B.P. Meanwhile, the C14 date of Layer Vc is 2840 ± 30 B.P.