1. The study used GIS, field surveys, excavations and interviews to establish the antiquity and social organization of the Ifugao rice terraces in the Philippines. 2. Radiocarbon dating of excavated samples indicated that the terraces were constructed prior to Spanish contact in the 16th century, challenging theories that attributed their origins to more recent population movements. 3. The study found that the terraces were managed through a system of communal organization centered around households and irrigation groups, rather than political centralization.