PHL Researcher Wins Prestigious Science Award in Paris for Research on Tabon Cave

Mr. Omar Choa delivers a presentation on the status of his research on Tabon Cave in the Jean Rouch Auditorium of the Musée de l’Homme.

22 November 2017 PARIS – PhD candidate Omar Choa received the prestigious Leroi-Gourhan Award for his outstanding contribution to scientific research in the field of archaeology, notably on the ancient environments of the first confirmed Homo sapiens in the Philippines around 40,000 years ago.

Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro conferred the award on Mr. Choa at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.

Mr. Choa is the first Filipino recipient of the Leroi-Gourhan Award, already in its eleventh year, which is given to PhD candidates at the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle for their outstanding contribution to the scientific content of the Musée de l’Homme.

During the awarding ceremony, Mr. Choa delivered a presentation on the status of his research on Tabon Cave and how this was the first time that Homo sapiens lived in an island environment.

The Tabon Caves Complex, a network of over 200 caves located in Lipuun Point in Quezon, Palawan, is on the tentative list of the Philippines for UNESCO World Heritage by virtue of being the first site to establish the presence of humans in the Philippines during the Pleistocene. END

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Ambassador Ma. Theresa Lazaro confers the Leroi-Gourhan Award on Mr. Omar Choa. Joining them onstage is Mr. Vincent Timothée, President of the Société des Amis du Musée de l'Homme.

From left: Mr. Bruno David, President of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle; Mr. Omar Choa; Ambassador Ma. Theresa Lazaro; Mr. Vincent Timothée; and Mr. François Rodhain, also of the Société des Amis du Musée de l’Homme.