Janelle S.

Garcia
WFZ
Worked Shells found in Leta Leta Cave, Palawan
I.

Introduction

Leta Leta Cave (C-67) is a burial site in Palawan excavated first

in1922 by a foreign expedition, and was completely excavated in 1965 by
Robert Fox and some colleagues from the National Museum of the
Philippines. The excavations recovered non-ceramic grave goods such as
bones and shells.

II.

Methods
The study focused on worked shells found in the site. An analytical
methodology was applied and it began with the identification of the raw
material of each piece of worked shell (Szabo and Ramirez,2009).Then,
each piece was then checked for the action of natural processes which
would give clues as to whether the original shell was collected live or postmortem. The next procedure was identifying which shells were artifacts. An
assessment of shelle working evidence was then carried out, followed by a
discussion of patterns of deposition as it relates to a burial site context".
(Szabo and Ramirez,2009)

III.

Results of analysis
Several Conus spp. artefacts were found in the site. One example is
a highly polished Conus sp. ring (accession #65-L-121) (Figure 1). The
study stated that specifically on Conus spp. discs, the production is
regionally-rare, which makes it interesting, especially because the site is
accessible only by sea. Also, results show the lack of Conus spp. body

fragments. It suggests that shell-working did not take place at the site.
Rather, blanks and preforms appear to have been deposited as grave
goods along with finished artefacts. (Szabo and Ramirez,2009)

IV.

Conclusion
With these results, what can be currently stated with certainty is that
shell ornaments generally, and Conus spp. artefacts in particular, are
clearlyof value. Conus artefacts appear to have been deposited as grave
goods Another conclusion arrived at was Leta Leta Cave provided
additional evidence to the clear strands of continuity from the Palawan
Neolithic into the Metal Age. (Szabo and Ramirez, 2009)

References
Szabo, K. & Ramirez, H. (2009). Worked shell from Leta Leta Cave, Palawan,
Philippines. Archaeology in Oceania, 44 (3), 150-159.

V.

Figures/Tables

Figure 1. Conus sp. ring found in Leta Leta Cave burial site, Palawan