Program Year: 2006
Award Agency: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Program)
Partner: National Museum of the Philippines
Amount: US$27,561
Status: Completed
Project Summary:The Project aimed to help protect and preserve the prehistoric site in Balobok Rock Shelter and its environmental resources, as well as to develop the area to enable the local community and other cultural stakeholders to learn and appreciate the rich heritage of the province. The site is a potentially rich lithic site, and experts believe that further excavation may disclose issues pertinent to the origins of Austronesian languages, the peopling of the area, patterns of habitation sites and the existence of ancient communities. The scope of work was divided into four phases, namely: a) information dissemination campaign on the protection and preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the province; b) rescue archaeology and collection of archaeological materials; c) documentation of prehistoric site and its environs; and d) development of the site and its surrounding as a mini-museum.