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A Neolithic introduction of domestic pigs into the Philippine Archipelago: implications for understanding routes of human migration through Island Southeast Asia and Wallacea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Philip J. Piper ,
Hsiao-chun Hung ,
Fredeliza Z. Campos ,
Peter Bellwood  and
Rey Santiago
Philip J. Piper*
Affiliation:
Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Hsiao-chun Hung
Affiliation:
Research Center of Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwa
Fredeliza Z. Campos
Affiliation:
Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippine
Peter Bellwood
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, A.D. Hope Building 14, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australi
Rey Santiago
Affiliation:
Archaeology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos St., Manila 1000, Philippine
*
(Email: phil_piper2003@yahoo.ie

Abstract

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Information

Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Antiquity Project Gallery , Volume 83 , Issue 321 , September 2009 , pp. 1 - 4
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), [2009]. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

This paper is published in full in Antiquity 83 no. 321 September 2009. Here we publish an additional technical note on distinguishing and dating pigs at the Nagsabaran Excavations.

Although Dobney et al. (2008) and Cucchi et al. (in press) have drawn attention to the pitfalls of using teeth to distinguish pig taxa, the two examples at Nagsabaran are so vastly different that they could be easily separated on the size and morphology of molars and fourth premolar, but in particular the shape and size of the maxillary and mandibular third molar (Tables 1a & 1b). The Wallacean suids (e.g. Sus philippensis, S. cebifrons and S. celebensis) differ from the ISEA and mainland Southeast Asian species in that they have a very simplified globular talonid (Figures 1 and 3; Cucchi et al. in press). The endemic Philippine pigs (excluding those on Palawan) also have a small body size and this is reflected in the dimensions of the molars and premolars. The larger specimens from Nagsabaran are of a similar size to members of the S. scrofa clade resident in Borneo (S. barbatus) and the rest of ISEA (S. scrofa, S. verrucosus and S. barbatus) and mainland Southeast Asia and Taiwan (Figures 2 and 4; S. barbatus and S. scrofa; taxonomy follows Reference GrovesGroves 1997, 2007; Lucchini et al. 2005). The size range of the teeth in the archaeological specimens exceeds those of the Palawan bearded pig S. ahoenobarbus, eliminating it as the possible source of the introduced domestic pig population (Tables 3 and 4). If we consider that the dimensions of the dentition are a reflection of the overall size of an animal, then it would appear that there had been none or only limited reduction in body size from the ancestral wild boar associated with the process of domestication (see Dobney et al. 2007), prior to their introduction into the Philippines.

Figure 1.

The upper left third molar of the endemic Philippine warty pig Sus philippensis recovered from Nagsabaran with measurements recorded as number 7 in Table 1b. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 2.

The upper left third molar of the introduced pig taxa recovered from Nagsabaran with measurements recorded as number 5 in Table 1b. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 3.

The upper left third molar of a modern Philippine warty pig Sus philippensis from Zamboanga in Mindanao held at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Measurements recorded in Table 2. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 4.

The upper left third molar of a modern Eurasian wild boar Sus scrofa from Laos held at the Field Museum of Natural History Chicago. The M3 is still in the process of eruption but has a minimum length of 32.8mm, a maximum anterior width of 23.8mm and central molar column width of 17.7mm. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

The deepest and chronologically oldest fragment from the large-sized (introduced) pig taxon is a damaged upper second molar from Pit 9 (1.40-1.50m bmg) with a minimum length of 23.88mm (Table 1b, no. 20). A further permanent right lower fourth premolar (P4) was recovered from Pit 9 (1.30-1.40m bmg) whose dimensions also clearly placed it within the size range of the introduced domestic pigs (Table 1a, no. 24). With some ambiguity in the potential age of the pig remains from the silt horizons it was decided to date the latter specimen directly using AMS 14C, after several casts had been produced and deposited at the National Museum of the Philippines. The P4 returned a date of 3940±40BP (WK-23397) or 4500-4200 cal BP (OxCAL Version 3), supporting associated charcoal dates and the typological chronology established from the ceramics recovered from the site (Hung 2008).

Tables

Table 1aMeasurements of the pig mandibular teeth recovered from Nagsabaran ordered by taxon and depth; native Philippine warty pig is numbers 1-8 and the introduced domestic from 9-24. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets); Dbase No. refers to the unique number allocated to each identifiable specimen in the zooarchaeological database: York System designed by Harland et al. 2003; Maximum depth (Max. depth) is measured in metres below modern ground (bmg) surface.
Table 1bMeasurements of the pig maxillary teeth recovered from Nagsabaran ordered by taxon and depth; native Philippine warty pig is 1-11 and the introduced domestic pig 12-20. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets); Dbase No. refers unique number allocated to each identifiable specimen in the zooarchaeological database: York System designed by Harland et al. 2003; Maximum depth (Max. depth) is measured in metres below modern ground surface.
Table 2Dental measurements of the modern comparative Sus philippensis held at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing; For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets; Data recorded by P.J. Piper and J. Ochoa): Davao, Zamboanga and Mt. Apo are on the island of Mindanao.
Table 3Dental measurements of the modern comparative Sus ahoenobarbus from Palawan Island held at the FMNH Chicago. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets; Data recorded by P.J. Piper and J. Ochoa).
Table 4The range of measurements for the mandibular and maxillary tooth rows of Sus scrofa from Malaysia and Sumatra. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing. For the lengths of the M1 and M2 the teeth were measured at the occlusal surface only (Data after Medway 1978).

References

Cucchi, T., K. Dobney & M. Fujita. In press. New insights into pig taxonomy, domestication and human dispersal in Island Southeast Asia through molar shape analysis: the Sus remains from Niah, and Lobang Kudih caves in Sarawak. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.Google Scholar
Dobney, K., A. Ervynck, U. Albarella & P. Rowley-conwy. 2007. The transition from wild boar to domestic pig in Eurasia, illustrated by a tooth developmental defect and biometrical data, in U. Alberella, K. Dobney, A. Ervynck & P. Rowley-Conwy (ed.) Pigs and humans: 10,000 years of interaction: 57-82. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobney, K., T. Cucchi & G. Larson. 2008. The pigs of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific: new evidence for taxonomic status and human-mediated dispersal. Asian Perspectives 47(1): 59-74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groves, C. 1997. Taxonomy of the wild pigs (Sus) of the Philippines. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 120: 163-91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groves, C. 2007. Current views on the taxonomy and zoogeography of the genus Sus, in U. Alberella, K. Dobney, A. Ervynck & P. Rowley-Conwy (ed.) Pigs and humans: 10,000 years of interaction: 15-29. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780199207046.003.0009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harland, J., J. Barrett, J. Carrott & K. Dobney. 2003. The York System: an integrated zooarchaeological database for research and teaching. Internet Archaeology 13. Available at http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue13/harland_index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Hung, H.-C. 2008. Migration and cultural interaction in southern coastal China, Taiwan and the northern Philippines, 3000 BC to AD 100: the early history of the Austronesian-speaking population. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Australian National University.Google Scholar
Lucchini, V., E. Meijaard, C.H. Diong, C.P. Groves & E. Randi. 2005. New phylogenetic perspectives among species of South-east Asian wild pig (Sus sp.) based on mtDNA sequences and morphometric data. Journal of Zoology, London 266: 25-35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medway, Lord. 1978. The wild pig remains from the west Mouth, Niah Cave. Sarawak Museum Journal 25 (46NS): 21-33.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Figure 1. The upper left third molar of the endemic Philippine warty pig Sus philippensis recovered from Nagsabaran with measurements recorded as number 7 in Table 1b. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 1

Figure 2. The upper left third molar of the introduced pig taxa recovered from Nagsabaran with measurements recorded as number 5 in Table 1b. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 2

Figure 3. The upper left third molar of a modern Philippine warty pig Sus philippensis from Zamboanga in Mindanao held at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Measurements recorded in Table 2. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 3

Figure 4. The upper left third molar of a modern Eurasian wild boar Sus scrofa from Laos held at the Field Museum of Natural History Chicago. The M3 is still in the process of eruption but has a minimum length of 32.8mm, a maximum anterior width of 23.8mm and central molar column width of 17.7mm. (Scale in cm). Click to enlarge.

Figure 4

Table 1a Measurements of the pig mandibular teeth recovered from Nagsabaran ordered by taxon and depth; native Philippine warty pig is numbers 1-8 and the introduced domestic from 9-24. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets); Dbase No. refers to the unique number allocated to each identifiable specimen in the zooarchaeological database: York System designed by Harland et al. 2003; Maximum depth (Max. depth) is measured in metres below modern ground (bmg) surface.

Figure 5

Table 1b Measurements of the pig maxillary teeth recovered from Nagsabaran ordered by taxon and depth; native Philippine warty pig is 1-11 and the introduced domestic pig 12-20. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets); Dbase No. refers unique number allocated to each identifiable specimen in the zooarchaeological database: York System designed by Harland et al. 2003; Maximum depth (Max. depth) is measured in metres below modern ground surface.

Figure 6

Table 2 Dental measurements of the modern comparative Sus philippensis held at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing; For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets; Data recorded by P.J. Piper and J. Ochoa): Davao, Zamboanga and Mt. Apo are on the island of Mindanao.

Figure 7

Table 3 Dental measurements of the modern comparative Sus ahoenobarbus from Palawan Island held at the FMNH Chicago. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing. For the lengths of the M1 and M2, the tooth was measured at the base of the enamel and at the occlusal surface (in brackets; Data recorded by P.J. Piper and J. Ochoa).

Figure 8

Table 4 The range of measurements for the mandibular and maxillary tooth rows of Sus scrofa from Malaysia and Sumatra. L = length; Wa = width anterior crowns; Wm = width middle crowns; Wp width posterior crowns; \ refers to teeth that cannot be measured (e.g. unerupted) or missing. For the lengths of the M1 and M2 the teeth were measured at the occlusal surface only (Data after Medway 1978).