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What Remains of the Dagohoy Rebellion: A Preliminary Investigation Into Skeletal Remains Found in Dagohoy Cave, Danao, Bohol, Philippines

Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines

The Dagohoy Rebellion was the longest revolt against Spanish rule in Philippine history. It began in 1744 and lasted 85 years. Due to its length and enigmatic hero, Francisco Dagohoy, the revolt remains in the contemporary oral history of Bohol. Francisco started the revolt for political and personal reasons. It began when a Spanish priest refused his brother a Catholic burial and continued as a fight for the rights of Filipino people by opposing forced labour, oppression, and heavy taxation. The rebels hid from the Spanish authorities in caves around the modern municipality of Danao, with one cave in particular, Dagohoy cave, being reported as the main ‘hide-out’ of the rebels. The oral history informs that after Francisco’s death in 1829, the rebellion continued until dynamite and fire were used to force the rebels from the cave. Many soldiers were said to have chosen death in the cave rather than surrender and that their bodies, and possibly the burial of Francisco, were left in Dagohoy cave. In 2005, officers of Danao tourism recovered several boxes of fragmented bones from the floor of the Dagohoy cave. In July 2022, I was invited to Danao to determine if the bones were human. A preliminary analysis of a small portion of the fragments indicated that both animal and human bones were present. So far, evidence for a minimum of three humans has been identified, including one with evidence of burning. Further analyses will be conducted, including identifying all human remains present and investigating the animal bones for species designation and signs of butchering. I will also attempt to date the bones, which will help determine if the bone fragments are associated with the Dagohoy revolt.