Authors of a breakthrough study will give a free lecture about the earliest human activity in the Philippines at the National Museum of Natural History in Manila on June 29.

In an invite posted in their social media account, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) said the lecture will be held at the Vergara and Co Education Rooms of the NMP, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

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The title of the lecture is “Colonizing the Philippines 700,000 years ago: Where, Who, and How?”

The speakers include Dr. Thomas Ingicco, primary author of the paper “Earliest Known Homonin Activity in the Philippines by 709,000 Years Ago” and co-author Marian Reyes-Magloyuan.

Dr. Ingicco, who is from the Musee de I’Homme in Paris and Magloyuan of NMP’s Archaeology Division, will discuss the relevance of the fossils, stone tools, and other artifacts on the story of humanity and the Philippines.

The speakers will also provide a report about their latest discoveries at one of the country’s most important archaeological landmarks: the Kalinga excavation site in Elephant Hill, Rizal, Kalinga province.

According to reports, the artifacts discovered on the site include fossils of a Rhinoceros philippinensis, a freshwater turtle, monitor lizard, Philippine brown deer, and other extinct animals that were dated back to 709,000 years ago.

This pushes the so-called ‘colonization’ of the Philippine archipelago because the Callao man, the previous oldest proof of human remains, was dated back to 67,000 years ago only.

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READ: Butchered rhinoceros fossil found in Kalinga seen to radically revise Philippine history

Archaeologists were astounded to discover that the rhino was butchered technically, using sharp tools such as a stone blade.

Some of the tools, the remains of the rhinoceros, and the tooth used to date the site, are exhibited in the NMP.

NMP said that interested parties should pre-register as the venue can only accommodate a limited number of individuals.

Participants can contact Ms. Annie Rose Roda through [email protected] and (02) 527.1219 for inquiries and pre-registration. /vvp

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