The earliest inhabitants of the Philippines arrived over 22,000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of the oldest human fossil found in the country. Pre-Spanish Philippine society consisted of diverse ethnic groups like the Negritos, Indonesians, and Malays, who introduced various cultural traditions over subsequent centuries. The ancient Filipinos exhibited rich artistic traditions in areas like music, dance, architecture, sculpture, pottery, weaving, tattooing, and literature that were integral parts of their daily lives and cultural practices.

1. PRE- SPANISH COLONIAL ART
IN THE PHILIPPINES

2. History
 The oldest human fossil
found in the Philippines is
the skull cap of a “Stone-
age Filipino”, about
22,000 years old.
 Discovered by Dr. Robert
B. Fox, an American
anthropologist of the
National Museum, inside
Tabon Cave Palawan on
May 28, 1962.

3. The Negritos
 They came during
the Paleolithic Age,
walking dry- shod
through Malay
Peninsula, Borneo

4. The Indonesians
 First Sea- Immigrants
 They were the
maritime Indonesian,
who belonged to the
Mongoloid race with
Caucasian affinities
 They belonged to the
Neolithic Age

5. The Malays
 They belong to the Iron
Age Culture
 Daring and liberty-
loving
 Belong to the brown
race
 Prominent contributions
are Ati-atihan Festival,
Maragtas Chronicle and
the code of Kalantiaw

6. MusicThe Ancient
Filipinos had
music
practically
for all
occasions,
for every
phase of life,
from birth to
death.

7. Music
Natives were without a doubt, music- lovers. Each
community had their own sets of musical instruments.
In the account of Pigafetta, the official historian of
Magellan Expedition, women from Cebu were
harmoniously playing
 Cymbals (platiles)
 Nose flutes, bamboo mouth organ (aphiw)
 Brass Gong (gansa)
 Flute (bansic)
 Long Drum (colibao)
 Bamboo Harp (subing)
 WaterWhistle (paiyak)
 Guitar (bugtot)
 Xylophone (agong)
 Drum (tugo)

8. Bamboo Zither
 Ethnic Dances and
songs are usually
accompanied by
chordophones
such as TANGKOL
or Bamboo Zither
of Bukidnon.

9. Gaddang
 Cordillera
Percussion
 Flat gongs
 made of
copper-and-
iron alloy

10. Gongs and Drum
 The Kulintang or
gongs of graduated
sizes arranged in a
row
 Dabakan is a conical
drum
 Both is from Maranao

11. Architecture
The Ancient
Filipinos had
first dwelt in
caves and
has learned
the art of
architecture
as they move
and hunt for
food

12. Lean-to
 Early Shelters: The
portable lean-to
which was both roof
and wall, suited the
lifestyle of the
nomadic Negrito.

13. Tausug House
 To the seafaring
Tausug of Sulu, a
house built on flat dry
land or a site that
slope towards Mercca
is lucky. The one-
room, gabled roof
house known as bay
sinug has a separate
kitchen accessible
through a side porch.

14. Torogan
 This ancestral
house home of
the Maranao
Sultan or datu has
a soaring, salakot-
shaped roof,
ornate beams and
massive posts- all
proclaiming
exalted status
 The carved beam
is called Panolong

15. Ifugao House “Bale”

16. Sculpture
The ancient
Filipinos had
attained a
high artistic
level through
pottery,
jewelry and
wood-
carving.

17. Bul-ul
 Are carved Anito
figures of the Ifugaos
 Represents Ancestral
Spirit and granary
gods
 Bul-uls are places in
rice garanaries as
“Guardians of the
Harvest”

18. Sarimanok
 Most well-known of the old
designs
 Represents a fowl with wings,
feathered tail, and a head
decorated with ornaments of
scrolled and painted motif of
leaves, spirals and feather- like
forms
 Usually perched atop a
bamboo pole, stands among
decorative flags during
weddings and other festive
occasions

19. Hagabi
 A wooden chair of the
Ifugaos
 Made of Narra or Ipil
 Signifies royalty and
power
 Only the rich people
can have this chair
together with the
rituals celebrated after
the chair has been
made

20. Pottery
 Palayok

21. Manuggul Jar
 Banga
 Depicts on its lid two
boatmen riding a
banca on their way
to the great divide
 Used for burial rites
by ancient people in
Palawan 890-710 BK

22. Wood Carving
 Ukkil etched on
coral gives a grave
distinctive marker
known as Sunduk
 Its Shape indicates
the sex of the
deceased:
hexagonal posts for
males and flat
combs for females

23. Jewelry
 Used by the people belonged in upper class or
royal families

24. Boaya
 Bontoc
Warrior’s Head
Hunting
Necklace
 Made of shell,
boar tusk,
rattan, fiber
and bone

25. Filipino Bawisak Earrings
 Traditional Ifugao
Tribe bead and shell
earrings
 The bottom shell
designs have been
described as either
representing
butterflies or a
certain item of male
generative anatomy

26. Weaving
 Weaving means to
make cloth and
other objects
 Threads or strands
of material are
passed under and
over each other

27. Malong with Okir Designs
 The Maranaos call
their ornamental
design Okir, a
general term for
both the scroll and
the geometric
form

28. Physical Ornaments
 Bontoc, Ifugao and
Kalinga Tribal textiles
with a variety of
silver and brass
“Linglingo” Fertility
Charms

29. Paintings
The Ancient
Filipinos had
expressed
paintings
through
tattoos and
cave carvings

30. Tattoos
 The Pintados (painted
ones), inhabitants of
the Visayan islands as
described by the first
Spaniards to set eyes
upon them
 They used sharp metal
instruments previously
heated over fire

31. Silup
 The tattooing imitated
the upper garment
worn by the men of
North Kalinga
 The women of South
Kalinga painted their
faces bright red

32. Petroglyphs
 The Angono
Petroglyphs is the
oldest known work
of art in the
Philippines
 There are 127 human
and animal figures
engraved on the
rock wall dating
back to 3000 B.C.

33. Literature
 The early form of literature during pre- Spanish
period was a classified into written or oral.
 Written
 Biag ni Lam- ang (Ilocano Epic)
 Indarapatra at Sulayman and Bidasari (Muslim Epics)
 Handiong (Bicolanos)
 Oral
 Maxims (sabi)
 Bugtong (riddles)
 Boat Song (talindaw)
 Victory Songs (tagumpay)
 Lullaby (uyayi)
 Wedding Songs (ihiman)
 War Song (Kumintang)

34. Alibata
 Ancient
Philippine
Alphabet