Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project: Report on the 2011 El Nido Field Season

The Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project (PIPRP) is in its ninth year. The project was initiated in 2003 primarily led by researchers from the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines and the National Museum of the Philippines. In its first two years the project concentrated work at the south and central parts of the main island; namely within the Rio Tuba-Bataraza and the Quezon area. The work focused on site assessments and palaeoenvironmental sampling, which further improved our general understanding of past environments in the region. Since 2004, focus shifted towards the northern end of the island, particularly within the municipality of El Nido. Much of the work shifted towards larger-scale excavations anchored primarily in the Dewil Valley. Apart from excavations at the two main Dewil sites, Ille and Pasimbahan-Magsanib, more surveys were conducted in the valley’s open landscape and in other parts of the municipality, such as in Sibaltan and the El Nido town proper. The field season for this year started in late March and ending in early May. The protracted progress of the project for 2011 is reflected in this report, supplemented by specialist reports on data accumulated through several field seasons. It is worth underscoring that post-excavation work continues as of this writing.