Ongoing excavations at Rizal, Kalinga in northern Luzon have yielded a rich stone tool assemblage associated

with an almost complete disarticulated skeleton of Rhinoceros philippinensis, together with other fossil faunal remains attributed to an extinct megafauna including Stegodon. All finds originate from a clay-rich bone bed that was dated to between 777-631,000 years ago using electron-spin resonance methods (ESR), while the rhinoceros has been directly dated to 709,000 years ago. This discovery provides secure evidence for the earliest colonization of the Philippines and suggests that overseas dispersal across Island Southeast Asia by early hominins took place already during the early Middle Pleistocene. This research presents a traceological analysis of the function and uses of the stone tools associated with the rhinoceros and investigate whether they were used for butchering the said animal and/or for other activities conducted at the site that may indicate whether

the site was used as a temporary camp for early hunter-gatherers or was rather a so-called ‘kill site’.