Pinoy researcher honored in Paris for work on Tabon Caves

PhD candidate Omar Choa became the first Filipino recipient of the Leroi-Gourhan Award for his outstanding research on Tabon Caves and its status as the first known location of Homo sapiens in the Philippines.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Choa combined mineralogy, micromorphology, and geochemistry to study with his team the caves to describe the conditions at the cave when it was occupied by the first Homo sapiens.

Choa's study of the caves was initially encouraged by a study sponsored by the National Museum of Natural History in France and the National Museum of the Philippines while taking his master's degree.

Prior to continuing his studies in France, Choa earned a degree in Physics from Ateneo de Manila University and archeology at the University of the Philippines.

Created in 2008, the Leroi-Gourhan prize is given to doctoral candidates of the National Museum of Natural History for their outstanding contributions to the scientific content of the Musée de l’Homme. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News