19,2 Smith: Ancient Cave Dwellers of Batwaan 239 
dead, but he has. never heretofore found any people living in 
the caves nor found any remains of people formerly living in 
them other than the bones which were buried there. Therefore, 
these caves are particularly interesting because we find the 
artifacts and kitchen middens, indicating not only that people 
lived here but that many people lived in them for a long period of 
time; and, furthermore, we are able to judge pretty well as to 
how they lived. 
The skulls . — Most of the skulls examined showed artificial 
deformation which, history records, was practiced by some of 
the peoples living in the Islands when the Spaniards first came 
here ; but, so far as the writer knows, no people at present living 
in the Philippines indulge in this primitive practice. An exam- 
ination of the skulls (see Plate 2) leads him to believe that an 
earlier race of people than now inhabits Masbate frequented these 
caves. From a preliminary study only, Professor Beyer has 
told the writer that in his opinion the smaller of the two skulls 
was that of a Negrito, the larger, perhaps, of a Chinaman. He 
called particular attention to the rather unusual deformation of 
these skulls. The smaller one, although that of an adult, has 
an open suture along the median line in the anterior part. This 
may have been caused by the use of two separate blocks, one on 
each side, being bound on the head. In the case of the larger 
skull, a totally different method seems to have been used. In 
this there is no flattening, but there is a most unusual depression 
which begins just in front of and above one ear, continuing 
across the top of the cranium down to the corresponding place 
on the other side. It looks as if a band of some metal had been 
bound tightly about the skull in the early years. The frontal 
suture in this case is completely closed. 
The artifacts . — From a study of the artifacts, it seems that 
three different cultures are represented, the oldest being repre- 
sented by the stone implements; the second, by the unglazed 
and ornamented pottery ; and the last, by the glazed pottery, the 
badly decayed and rusty fragment of a metal lock, and the basket 
work. The fragments of pottery, shown in Plate 3, are partic- 
ularly interesting, since, so far as is known, nothing like this 
is being made in the Philippines to-day, save among the pagans 
of eastern Mindanao. As a rule, Filipinos do not etch designs 
on their pottery; but, whenever they do attempt decorations of 
any kind (which is the exception) the patterns are painted on 
very crudely. Possibly the patterns on these old fragments from 
Batwaan have Javanese affinities. It seems fairly certain that 
they represent a very early culture stage in the Philippines. 
