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Cebu City, Philippines - Archaeologists were able to unearth a “death mask” and other evidence of pre-Spanish Cebu settlers under a tunnel being constructed in Cebu City.
They also excavated what could be the remains of a local chieftain and other items considered the “most significant artifacts” so far in the construction site of a subway tunnel outside Plaza Independencia. The tunnel is part of the South Road Properties development.
“We found a death mask of a chieftain or head of a tribe and some pre-Spanish ceramic trade ware,” said Boomboom Miano, Fort San Pedro Museum curator.
The three-piece mask, which is made of very thin gold, was discovered on Monday night.
One piece is used to cover the eye. The other piece was placed on the nose and the third piece covered the mouth.
The carat or purity of the gold pieces still have to be determined by experts, said Miano but “for the National Museum, all cultural items are priceless.”
“It was the practice of early Filipinos especially in the Visayas and Mindanao to put a death mask on the chieftain. He is the one who is powerful so when he dies he would also be buried with ceramics because, according to many accounts, there is a possibility of being accepted in heaven,” he said.
“This is one of the most significant finds in Cebu, so far,” Miano added.
The skeletal remains and burial items could help “determine the people's level of wealth or power in society.”
The chieftain's identity is not yet known. He was buried with large ceramic items, the gold mask and a dagger.
“Based on history, we have chieftains like Humabon, Lapu-Lapu and Tupas,” Miano said.
Working on the site with Miano are Nida Cuevas, researcher of the National Museum, and Jojo Bersales, head of the Archeology Department of the University of San Carlos (USC). Bersales was deputized by the National Museum to oversee the project.
Miano said their priority is to understand the ancient practices of early settlers in Cebu rather than identifying the chieftain they unearthed.
Cuevas, meanwhile, said the trade ware ceramics found on site were also important.
With them “you can determine the century and age of the people who lived here. We could know the origin of the items, whether they were from Vietnam, Thailand or China. These (items) indicate how old the place is,” she said.
“We would be able to know, as we continue the diggings. If they were not rich then they would not put big ceramics that we found here,” Cuevas said.
Miano said experts assisted by USC's Department of Sociology and Anthropology would continue retrieving artifacts to document and analyze them.
“In the future, we will be able to showcase pre-Spanish practices of the Cebuanos and show that we were already doing trade with other countries even before the Spaniards came,” he said.
