8 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. XII. 



bodies dried, and nothing else." 1 Dr. Merton Miller of the Philip- 

 pine Bureau of Science recently opened a number of mounds found on 

 the Island of Camiguin lying north of Luzon. In them he found jars 

 placed one over the other, in the manner just described, and containing 

 some human bones as well as a few beads. 2 Mr. Emerson Christy, also 

 of the Philippine Bureau of Science, while exploring ancient burial caves 

 in the Subuanan district of Mindanao, found a number of large Chinese 

 jars, some containing human bones and accompanied by agate beads. 

 Fragments of large jars were also found in the burial cave of Pokanin 

 in Southern Mindoro 3 (compare PI. II). Dr. Fletcher Gardner, 

 who first visited the place, described the cave as follows: 4 



"It is situated about half way between the towns of Bulalacao and 

 Mansalay in Southern Mindoro. It is on the seaward face of a cliff 

 about 500 feet high and 200 yards wide and is about 200 feet 

 above high water mark. In the summer of 1904, while hunting for 

 guano, I accidentally discovered this cave and procured the skulls and 

 other bones which I am sending you. The nearest inhabitants, who 

 live within half a mile of the cave at the little sitio of Hampangan Mang- 

 yans, have known that these remains were there but deny that the bones 

 are those of their ancestors. As two or three members of the sitio 

 assisted me in procuring and carrying away the bones I am satisfied 

 that they believe the statement to be true, but as will be seen from the 

 remains of basketry and fabrics enclosed with the bones these products 

 are practically the same as those of the inhabitants of the sitio above 

 mentioned. I believe that during the great Moro raid of 1754 when 

 seventy-five slaves were taken from Manol and Mansalay the Mangyan 

 at that time inhabiting the neighborhood were driven into the interior 

 and abandoned this cave for burial purposes. . . The bones were 

 covered with about three inches of dust and nitrous earth, which argues 

 a very long time without disturbance." 



From this evidence it seems not at all unlikely that jar burial may 

 have been practiced by the Filipino, especially those in direct trade 

 relations with Borneo, in which country such burials are common. 5 

 In this connection it is interesting to note that Dr. Hirth believes jar 

 burial to have been introduced into Borneo by the Chinese traders from 

 Fukien, and its introduction was probably later than the lifetime of Chao 



1 Aduarte, Ibid., Vol. XXXI, p. 115. Jagor, Travels in the Philippines, pp. 

 259-61. 



2 Philippine Journal of Science, Feb., 191 1, pp. 1-4. 



3 The contents of this cave are now in the Field Museum of Natural History. 



4 Extract from letter to Field Museum. 



6 Ling Roth, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, pp. 150- 

 154; Furness, Home Life of Borneo Head-hunters, p. 139. 



