350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1946 
be of interest. As previously mentioned, the dead had generally been 
buried on their backs in outstretched position. There were only a few 
exceptions. In some cases, especially at Penagpatayan, the individ- 
uals appear to have been mutilated, as parts of the skeleton were 
missing (part of the thorax, an arm, or the skull). In one case (Kay 
Tomas tomb No. 26) we found two skulls at the feet of the dead. In 
tomb No. 21, Kay Tomas, the skull was placed in a bowl. The writer 
once noted a similar burial custom in a Han tomb discovered at Lach- 
truong, Thanh-hoa Province, in northern Annam. Occasionally we 
found only the skull, together with funerary deposits. Near the cen- 
tral part of one skeleton (Kay Tomas No. 29) we found the remains 
of two other small skeletons, possibly a mother and her two children. 
One skeleton had teeth that showed traces of a black varnish (possibly 
due to betel chewing) and were provided with gold plugs. The cus- 
tom of inserting gold plugs in the teeth is said still to occur among 
the inhabitants of Visayan Island. In tomb No. 15 Kay Tomas, we 
found alongside the skeleton a layer of shells which is of interest 
because shells play an important role in many lands with regard to 
fecundity and burial customs. In northern Annam in 1937, the writer 
found shells in one of the more stately tombs from the Han dynasty. 
Examples of tombs with their funerary deposits are shown in plate 1. 
The osteological material was studied on the spot by Dr. Gerardo 
Manas, physician of the Calatagan estate. Owing to the outbreak of 
the war, the report Dr. Manas then prepared never reached us. How- 
ever, according to an oral report to the author in 1940, the measure- 
ments gave indices characteristic of modern Filipinos in Luzon. On 
the basis of this information it appears safe to assume that most of 
those buried were natives. 
As already pointed out, the deposits generally comprise various types 
of ceramics, found at the head, the feet, or above the legs or the middle 
region. We noticed that the ceramics, especially those placed above or 
close to the middle region, had often been deposited in inverted posi- 
tion. This disposition is undoubtedly intentional and may have signifi- 
cance, possibly connected with fecundity rites. It is noteworthy that 
in Annamite tombs from the Sung dynasty (960-1126) discovered in 
Thanh-hoa Province, northern Annam, the writer also found a similar 
disposition (though there were no actual skeleton remains left owing 
to the destructive influence of the soil). 
Most of the ceramics we discovered at Calatagan are of Chinese make, 
but by what routes did the ceramics reach the Philippines? Some of 
the wares were apparently imported direct from Siam, where the Chi- 
nese had established the famous Sawankhalok kilns in 1350. Other 
wares may have reached the Philippines from China either directly 
or by way of Annam or Tonkin or the East Indies, where the Chinese 
