A Glimpse of Palawan Museum

All About Palawan's Heritage
by lakwatserong tatay

As a backpacker, i usually visit different scenic and tourist spots that i've been with. Normally going to beaches, falls and some other attractions that mostly tourist and vacationers are going. But not all of this tourist, specially locals like us, don't want to go to museum, and to know our historical backgrounds and our country's cultural heritage, but they do not have a choice because of the tour package, that they're availing visiting this wonderful and very informative museum are included on this tour package. But on my personal perspective visiting musuems and being aware of each of everyone's cultural heritage is one great experience that is really a worth trying, giving the chance to have a glympse of their past and seeing different artifacts is such a awesome experience and looking back to their past how they live, is a very valuable knowledge that you may used when you visit different towns and having the knowledge how to communicate and easily learn their culture is really an advantage.....^_^

Palawan Musuem is a worth visit if you're interested in the ethnological and archaelogical history of the Palawan. Located in the Old City Hall Bldg in Mendoza Park, it has two floors of exhibits. Items include Chinese- and Spanish-era pottery and relics, as well as prehistoric artifacts from Tabon Caves. The exhibits upstairs identifies the various peoples who lives in Palawan and called it home.

Palawan Musuem

Palawan Museum was formally opened on March 4, 1991, organized by the Natural and Historical Foundation of Palawan and the City of Puerto Princesa, Inc., in 1987. The building was renovated in 1992 and turnover of the Old City Hall to the foundation was conducted by Hon. Edward S. Hagedorn on March 4, 1993.

Inaguration Marker

Palawan is home to 87 different cultural groups and races. It homes 3 National Cultural Treasures. The Tagbanuas, one of the indigenous groups in Palawan, are one of the few remaining ethnoliguistic groups in our country, that uses syllabic writing prior to the coming of the Spaniards, which been declared by UNESCO in 1999 as "Memory of the World".

This museum was created for serving as a center and repository of relics and artifacts in Palawan, as a genuine source of the rich natural and historical legacy of Palawan and as a source of a growing collection and reference of Palawan's cultural heritage.

This museum is dived into different sections namely the anthropology, archaeology, biology, ethnology and historical sections. Also a library is found within Palawan Museum which composed of donations from their partners of hard to finds books of its archaeology, history, culture and ethnology, anthropology that are all about Palawan and the world.

Palawan Natural History Section

Here are some of the photos around the Underwater Archaeology section, this sections keeps a collection of marine shells that can be found in Palawan including the very rare Conus Gloria Maris and the Golden Cowrie, sad to say i do not have a photo souvenir of that marine collections, but i was able to have some shots of its other marine collections, corals, shells and a miniture boat during Pre-historic era's on Palawan.

Coral collections



Shell collections

Underwater Archaelogical Section

A miniture boat (I forgot to get the name of this boat)....^_^

Anthropology Section - this section features a skull cap of Tabon Man found in Palawan, now can ben seen in Palawan Museum. Tabon man refers to fossilized human remains discovered on the island of Palawan on May 28, 1962 by Dr. Robert b. Fox, an American anthropologist of the National Musuem. These remains, the fossilized fragments of a skull and jawbone of the three individuals, were the earliest human remains known as "Tabon Man" after the Tabon Cave, the place where they were found on the wst coast of Palawan. Tabon Cave appears to be a kind of Stone Age factory, with both finished stone flake tools and waste core flakes having been found at four separate levels in the main chamber. Charcoal left from three assemblages of cooking fires there has been Radio Carbon-14 technique to be around 23,000 BCE.

Tabon Man Skull

Ethnology section is all about the showcase of cultural materials from the paraphernalia of a significant ritual like the Pagdiwata of the Tagbanua to rodinary tools, fishing and hunting equipments baskets, woven out of indigenous materials colored wth natural dyes that retain their color even under the heat of the sun.

Ethnology Section

Here some of the items and artifacts that you could on this section.

Ming Dynasty Wares

Some of the artifacts that has been recovered in some of the shipwrecks across the island. It said to be this white and blue porcelain plates and wares are from the time of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Archaeology Section is all about pre-historic artifacts that came from caves, shipwrecks and some recovered items in different places in Palawan. One of the main highlight on this section is the Manunggul Burial Jar (Carbon dated as Late Neolithic Period). The jar covers features a ship of the dead with 2 oarsmen. This is the only jar of this period that has been recovered intact, therefore it was been declared as a National Cultural Treasure, and used to be the Logo of Palawan Museum.

Manunggul Burial Jar (approx. 800BC - found in Tabon Caves)

Other features of this section include jars from the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) recovered from land and underwater excavations in Southern Palawan.

Some of the Jars and Porcelain Wares on Archaeology Section

Traditional Baskets from Palawan

One last souvenir shot from Palawan Museum....the museum hours....sayang wala ako photo opps dito...^_^

You can visit Palawan Musuem....^_^

I'm always telling my co-trippers in each of my trips that one thing to know more about the culture and heritage of the places that we've been with is to visit this kind of institutions. Because exploring different places without knowing their culture or heritage, on how or what you will treat their place would bring you and your group into trouble or a scenario. So always be prepared it is not necessary to visit a museum before you will explore the place but just study the basic traits and culture of each places that you've been, for you and your group will have a pleasant trip experience.

Wow, bigla ako naging makahistory and naging panatiko ng mga museo, although i really love visiting different kind of museums, because iba yung experience pagnakapasok ka and matapos mo yung tour, one thing that you will learn and could share to your kids, on how we will treasure our past and our own cultural heritages and traits.....^_^

Hayan, tapos na ulit ang isa....4 stories to go...tapos ko na po at last ang Palawan Trip ko, and sobra na ang dami ng backlog stories ko...sana bago matapos 2011...matapos ko siya....hehehehe...^_^.

Palawan Musuem

Old City Hall Building
Mendoza Park, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Phils.

Tel. no. : +63-048-433-2963

Musuem Hours:

  Monday - Saturdays             8:30am - 12:00nn

  Monday - Saturdays             1:30pm - 5:30pm
  Sunday                                 Closed

Entrance Fees:

 Adult (Local & Foreign)        Php20.00

 College (Local)                     Php10.00

 High School (Local)              Php5.00

 Children                                Php2.00  

For more information about Palawan Musuem...just click this website..: Palawan Musuem

special thanks to: Carlo, for sharing some of his photos....^_^

This story is part of: Five Days Trip at Palawan