history of the creation of continents, countries and others.

1. ARCHAEOLOGY IN
THE PHILIPPINES
P S 2 0 1
O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 1

2. COLONIAL PERIOD
• * Very little archaeological work was carried out during the
Spanish period.
• Some of the few (Jagor, Joseph Montano, Paul Ray, and
Jose Rizal) occasionally were reported to have visited some
sites.
• However, the only detailed investigation was done by the
French archaeologist, Alfred Marche in 1881 commissioned
by the French government – a large collection of antiquities
are now in l’homine in Paris.

3. COLONIAL PERIOD
• During the American period, H. Otley Beyer made some
important archaeological works in the Philippines which
include the establishment of the Anthropology Department in
the University of the Philippines in 1914.
• By 1920s, early surveys and collection were carried out by
Beyer, Dean C. Worcester, and Carl Guthe.
• The first archaeological project in the Philippines was the
Rizal-Bulacan Archaeological Survey in 1926-1930 starting
with the Novaliches Dam where more than 500,000 artefacts
120 sites were surveyed.

4. POST-INDEPENDENCE
A. PALEOLOTHIC
* Despite Philippine independence in 1946 Beyer continued in his post
at the UP until 1954. In 1949, he was joined by Wilhelm Solheim.
• Some of the archaeological works will be categorized by periods.
• - the earliest of the hominess in the Philippines is the 700,000-year
old butchered rhinoceros in Kalinga province in Luzon.
Anthropologists believe that this indicate the possible colonization of
Homo erectus.
• Moreover, the oldest human fossil in possibly the Asia-Pacific region
is the 67,000-year old Callao Man, so called since it was discovered
in Callao Cave in Cagayan.
• A continuous occupation by a Homo Sapiens of a rock shelter at
14,000 cal bp (calibrated years before present)

5. POST-INDEPENDENCE
B. NEOLITHIC
*The oldest known work of art (petroglyphs) in the Philippines is
located in the province of Rizal. Engravings are mostly symbolic
representations and associated with healing and magic. ThOther
petroglyphs include the Anda Peninsula Petroglyphs of eastern
Bohol, Lallo and Guitaran Shell Middens found in Cagayan River,
and the Burial Jarlet in Leta-Leta Caves in Palawan.
* Also important find is the bark cloth beater , a stone tool artifacts
dating as far back as 2,000 – 1500 BCis was declared by the
National Museum as a National Treasure in 1973.

6. POST-INDEPENDENCE
C. JADE CULTURE
*| The oldest known work of art (petroglyphs) in the Philippines is
located in the province of Rizal. Engravings are mostly symbolic
representations and associated with healing and magic. This was
declared by the National Museum a
Other petroglyphs include the Anda Peninsula Petroglyphs of
eastern Bohol, Lallo and Guitaran Shell Middens found in
Cagayan River, and the Burial Jarlet in Leta-Leta Caves in
Palawan.
* Also important find is the bark cloth beater , a stone tool artifacts
dating as far back as 2,000 – 1500 BC

7. METAL AGE
* Manunggul Jar dated 890-710 BC
* Sa Huyun Culture (identified with modern day central and southern
Vietnam). A Sa-Huyun pottery complex found in Masbate is dated
400 BC to 1500 AD. The Sa-Huyun people were most likely the
predecessors of the Cham people, an Austronesian speaking
people and the founder of the Kingdom of Champa.
• Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery dated 190 BC to 500 AD was
discovered in 1991 in Maitum, Sarangani province known today as
the Maitum jars. They are made of earthenware and characterized
by their design that suggests human figures with complete or
partial facial features; they give emphasis to the Filipinos’ popular
belief of life after death.

8. METAL AGE
*
Sultan Kudarat Anthropomorphic Pottery (not yet carbon dated)
– In 2008 officials found a tricycle carrying artifacts similar in
shape with the Maitum Anthropomorphic Potteries but are
painted and have clearer expressions. However, since the
location cannot be established, no carbon dating was done yet.

9. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Indigenous Architecture
* Idjang – a triangle –shaped Citadel erected in Batanes
made from limestone and wood.
* Limestone tombs of Kamhantik is an excavagted remains of
a thousand-year-old village found in the jungles of Mt. Maclayao in
Sitio Kamhantik within the Buenavista Protected Landscape of
Malanay, Quezon, Philippines. It is composed of 15 limestone
coffins that can be dated back from the period of 10th to 14th century
based on one of the National Museum’s top archaeological site with
both habitation and burial remains from the period of approximately
10th to 14th century. This is the first of its kind in the Philippines
having carved limestone tombs.

10. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Islamic Architecture
* Sheik Karimol Makhdum Mosque located in Barangay Tubig
Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines is the oldest mosque
in the Philippines and was built by an Arab trader Sheik
Makhdum Karim in 1380. The original pillars of the old mosque
are still to be found inside the new building. It is declared a
National Historical Landmark by the National Historical
Commission.

11. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Burial Sites and Grave Artifacts
* Oton Death Mask – investigated by anthropologists Alfredo
Evangelista and F. Landa Jocano; a gold nose disc and eye mask
found in an ancient grave in Oton, Iloilo. The Death Mask was used
to cover the faces of the dead to inhibit evil spirits from entering the
body of the deceased; believed to be practiced between the late
14th to 15th century.
* The Kabayan Mummies of Benguet or Ibaloi Mummies –
group of mummies found along the mountain slopes of Kabayan in
Benguet. They were made from as early as 2000 BC until the 16th
century. Today, they remain in natural caves and a museum in

12. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Clothing or Jewelry
* Banton cloth – earliest known wrap ikat textile in Southeast
Asia estimated to be about 400 years old. The burial cloth was
found in a wooden coffin that also contain blue and white ceramics
in Banton Island, Romblon. The shroud was woven from red, black
and white abaca threads. At present, the people in Bontok,
Mountain Province use a colorful burial cloth to wrap the dead.
* Lingling-o – omega shaped type of pendant or amulet. The
earliest surviving examples of lingling-o dates back to the metal age
were made of Nephrite jade but many later examples were made of
shell, gold, copper, and wood. Peter Bellwood’s discovery in early
2000 in Batanes of an ancient goldsmith’s shop that make lingling-o
provide evidence of the indigenous manufacture of such artifacts as
early as 2,500 years ago.

13. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Piloncitos – the earliest form of precious metal based currency of
the Philippines. It is likely made of pure gold with a weight ranging
between .5 grams to more or less than 3 grams a size of a corn
kernel. Large piloncitos weighing 2.65 grams approximate the
weight of one mass. Piloncitos have been excavated from
Mandaluyong, Bataan, the banks of the Pasig River, Batangas,
Marinduque, Samar, Leyte, and some areas in Mindanao.
Gold ring currencies – The early Filipinos traded Piloncitos also
along with gold rings, which is gold ring-like ingots. These barter
rings are bigger than doughnuts in size and are made od nearly
pure gold.

14. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Documents, inscriptions, or seals
• Laguna Copperplate Inscription- The oldest written document in the Philippines found
in Lumban River, Laguna dated 900 AD which is written in four languages: old Malay,
old Tagalog, Kawi, and Sanskrit.
• Butuan Silver Paleograph also known as the “Butuan Silver Strip,”is a piece of metal
with Kawi inscriptions found in Butuan province in the mid-1970s by a team of
archaeologists from the Nationa Museum of the Philippines.
• Ticao Stone Inscription – also known as Monreal stone or Rizal stone – a limestone
contains an ancient script Baybayin found by pupil of Rizal elementary Scool on Ticao
Island in Monreal town, Masbate province, which had scraped the mud off their shoes
and slippers on two irregular shaped limestone tablets before entering their classroom
are now housed at a section of the National Museum, which weighs 30 kilos, is 11
centimeters thick, 54 cm long and 44 cm wide while the other is 6 cm thick, 20 cm long
and 18 cm wide.

15. BUTUAN ARTIFACTS
LAGUNA COPPERPLATE
INSCRIPTION BUTUAN SILVER
PALEOGRAPH

16. BUTUAN IVORY SEAL BAYBAYIN IN THE UST

17. Ticao Inscription Golden Garuda of
Palawan

18. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Documents, inscriptions, or seals
• The Baybayin Archives of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila,
one of the largest archives in the Philippines, currently possesses
the biggest collection of extant ancient Baybayin alphabets in the
world.
• Butuan Ivory Seal – an ivory stamp or privy seal associated with a
thinoceros ivory tusk, dated 9th-12th century was found in Libertad,
Butuan in Agusan del Norte, Mindanao. Inscribed on the seal is
the word Butban, was presumed to stand for Butwan or Butuan,
since the letters “b” and “w” were frequently interchanged. The
ivory seal is now housed at the National Museum of the

19. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Iconography
Hindu-Buddhist
* Present-day scholarship believes these religious and cultural influences mostly came
through trade with Southeast Asian thassalocratic empires such as
the Srivijaya and Majapahit, which had in turn had trade relationships with India.
• Scholars such as Milton Osborne emphasize that despite these beliefs being originally
from India, they reached the Philippines through Southeast Asian cultures with
Austronesian roots.
• Artifacts[verification needed] reflect the iconography of the Vajrayana Buddhism and its
influences on the Philippines's early states.

20. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Iconography
Hindu-Buddhist
• * Bronze Lokesvara – This is bronze statue of Lokesvara was found in Isla Puting Bato in Tondo,
Manila.
• Golden Garuda of Palawan- The other finds are the garuda, the mythical bird that is common to
Buddhism and Hinduism, Another gold artifact, from the Tabon Caves in the island of Palawan, is an
image of Garuda, the bird who is the mount of Vishnu. The discovery of sophisticated Hindu imagery
and gold artifacts in Tabon Caves has been linked to those found from Oc Eo, in the Mekong Delta in
Southern Vietnam.
• Bronze Ganesha statues – A crude bronze statue of a Hindu Deity Ganesha has been found by Henry
Otley Beyer in 1921 in an ancient site in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and in Mactan. Cebu the crude
bronze statue indicates of its local reproduction.[49]
• Mactan Alokitesvara – Excavated in 1921 in Mactan, Cebu by H.O.Beyer the statue is bronze may be
a siva-buddhist blending rather than "pure Buddhist".[49]
• The Golden Tara was discovered in 1918 in Esperanza, Agusan by Bilay Campos
a Manobo tribeswoman.[52] The Golden Tara was eventually brought to the Field Museum of Natural

21. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Iconography
Hindu-Buddhist
• Bronze Ganesha statues – A crude bronze statue of a Hindu Deity Ganesha has been
found by Henry Otley Beyer in 1921 in an ancient site in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and
in Mactan. Cebu the crude bronze statue indicates of its local reproduction.[49]
• Mactan Alokitesvara – Excavated in 1921 in Mactan, Cebu by H.O.Beyer the statue is
bronze may be a siva-buddhist blending rather than "pure Buddhist".[49]
• The Golden Tara was discovered in 1918 in Esperanza, Agusan by Bilay Campos
a Manobo tribeswoman.[52] The Golden Tara was eventually brought to the Field
Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois in 1922. Henry Otley Beyer, and some
experts have agreed on its identity and have dated it to belong within 900–950 CE.
They can not place, however, its provenance because it has distinct features.[53]

22. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
Iconography
Hindu-Buddhist
• Golden Kinnari- The golden-vessel kinnari was found in 1981 in Surigao. The kinnari
exists in both Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In Buddhism, the kinnari, a half-human
and half-bird creature, represents enlightened action. The Buddhist Lotus
Sutra mentions the kinnari as the celestial musician in the Himavanta realm. The
kinnari takes the form of a centaur, however, in India's epic poem, the Mahabharata,
and in the Veda's Purana part.

23. EARLY HISTORIC PERIOD
(900 – 1520)
•Ships
The balangay replica docked at CCP Harbor Manila after its
South East Asian expedition

24. SHIPS
• Balangay (Butuan Boat)- the first wooden watercraft excavated in Southeast Asia and
is evidence of early Filipino craftsmanship and their seamanship skills during pre-
colonial times. The Balanghai Festival is also a celebration in Butuan, Agusan del
Norte to commemorate the coming of the early migrants that settled the Philippines, on
board the Balangay boats.[56] When the first Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, they
found the Filipinos living in well-organized independent villages called barangays. The
name barangay originated from balangay, the Austronesian word for "sailboat".[57]
• The Pandanan Shipwreck is a 15th-century archaeological site[58] which was
excavated in 1995 by the Underwater Archaeology Division of the National Museum of
the Philippines in Pandanan Island, in the coast of Southern Palawan. The ship was
surmised to be a Southeast Asian cargo boat travelling from either Vietnam or
Southern China and is one of the best preserved pre-Spanish trading ships within the
jurisdiction of Philippines. It is speculated that the ship stopped at some ports
in Mainland Southeast Asia to load trade wares. Bad weather might have led to the
sinking of the ship.[59]

25. SHIPS
• Tradeware artifacts[edit]
• Porcelain tradeware[edit]
• Porcelain tradeware from Vietnam, Taiwan, and China were so prevalent during the
Philippines "late metal age" that early scholars of Philippine anthropology came to refer
to the period as the Philippines' "Porcelain age." Before the discovery of the Laguna
Copperplate Inscription in the early 1990s, anthropologist, the richness of historical
clues which could be derived from these porcelain artifacts led scholars to use the term
"protohistory."The Iron Age consisted of a phase called the "Porcelain Age," and
porcelain in this phase entered the Philippines around the nineteenth century A.D.
along with "glazed stoneware" from Southeast Asia.
• The "Flying elephant of Lenna Shoal" plate is considered a remarkable example of
Chinese tradeware, with only two extant examples known in the world today.

26. COLONIAL (1521-1946)
Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as
ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on (depending
on source) 15 March 1521.[62]
•Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on (depending on source) 15 March 1521.[62][63][64]

27. COLONIAL (1521-1946)
•Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on (depending on source) 15 March 1521.[62][63][64]
 Boxer Codex – a manuscript written c. 1590,[73] which contains illustrations of ethnic
groups in the Philippines at the time of their initial contact with the Spaniards. Aside
from a description of, and historical allusions to what is now the Philippines and
various other Far Eastern countries, the codex also contains seventy-five colored
drawings of the inhabitants of these regions and their distinctive costume.[74]