Rizal Technological University

Boni Ave, Mandaluyong City

College of Education
Science Department

Science, Technology and Society

Objectives
At the end of the topic, the readers are expected to:
1. Compare indigenous science with indigenous technologies.
2. Analyze the importance of some indigenous knowledge and science in
our lives.

Indigenous Science
Indigenous science is a product of indigenous knowledge perfected by people through life experiences. Indigenous
knowledge may connote traditional and non- scientific knowledge because it includes superstitious beliefs and practices
which maybe products of human imagination. However, these products may also become the foundation of people's
creativity, originality and inventiveness in defining the world where we live in. Indigenous science a wide scope of areas
including metaphysics, philosophy, and practical technologies usually accomplished by people then and now (Snively &
Corsiglia, 2000; Pawilen, 2013).

Examples of indigenous science include:

• knowledge in observing animal behavior to predict weather conditions and seasons

• traditional health habit practices
• the use of herbal medicines
• knowledge on preserving foods
• preservation and selection of good seeds for planting
• building irrigation system
• classifying different types of soil for planting
• making wines and juices from fruits
• local methods of growing vegetables in the yard
• indigenous method of calculating or estimating
• knowledge on mineral resources found in the community
• making products such as vinegar, cheese, and nata de coco

Philippine Indigenous Technologies

 Indigenous technologies are processes or products which are the results of studying indigenous science. Following
are the indigenous technologies that have emerged out of Filipino's creativity, originality and inventiveness. These
technologies are now parts of our lives when they come to medicine, food products, industry, and other aspects of human
existence.

1. Yoyo

This is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks and a string looped
around the axle. It is played by holding the handle (string) by inserting one finger into a
knot at its free end. This was used by people then, to fight against intruders and
Spaniards.
This toy was a product of the creative mind of Pedro Flores, an undergraduate law
student
at that time. But even if the inventor of this toy was a Filipino, it was the Americans
who
mass produced the product which became one of the most distinct toys in the history ( Lui,
2013; Bellis, 2017).
www.amazon.com/
2. Medical Incubator
Figure 6.1. A yoyo. Source:
Erythromycin
http://philippinetop10.blogspot.com
This equipment was invented by Dr. Fe del Mundo, the first
Asian student at the Harvard University's School of
Medicine. She made this incubator out of two laundry
baskets which were placed one inside the other. This was
provided with hot water all around the baskets to make
warmth available to them. This tool was purposely invented
to regulate the body temperature of newborn babies (John,
2009).

Figure 6.2. Medical incubator. Source: 3.

In 1949, Dr. Abelardo Aguilar discovered the antibiotic

erythromycin
produced by the bacterium Streptomyces erythreus found in the soil
from his
own province in Iloilo. He sent this to his employer in the U.S. to separate the
strain but unfortunately did not get the credit for the discovery (Son, 1994).
 Figure 6.3. The antibiotic erythromycin.
Source: http://cariescopharma.com/
4. Patis or fish sauce Figure 6.4. The fish sauce made by Tentay Food
and Sauces. Source: http://cee enterprises.com/
Ruperta David, who was popularly known as Aling Tentay
was the woman behind the discovery of this condiment.
She accidentally discovered patis in the 1940s when she
noticed that some of the salted fish that she stored in a jar
turned into fragments and these fragments turned into
liquid which tasted like the patis we are using today. From
then on, the business started but was only officially
registered in 1949 as Tentay Food and Sauces, Inc. (Lui,
2013)

5. Banana Catsup

After discovering tomato catsup, Maria Orosa y Ylagan focused

on creating another flavor of catsup, the banana catsup. Filipinos
love to use this condiment for every fried food served on the
table. Orosa was also the brain behind the creation of other food
products like desiccated powdered form of calamansi called
calamansi nip, and a powdered preparation of soya beans called
soya-lac which was used to save the lives of many prisoners held
by Japanese during World War II (Lui, 2013; Torrecampo,
2017).

6. Anticancer cream
Figure 6.5. Banana catsup. Source:
http://www.psst.ph/
Due to the increasing incidence of cancer, a Filipino scientist
named Rolando de la Cruz developed an anticancer cream from cashew
nuts and other local herbs to treat basal skin carcinoma (BSC) which is
considered to be the most prevalent type of skin cancer all over the
world. He called this cream DeBCC anticancer cream which won him a
gold medal award in the International Inventors' Forum in November
2005 (Proudly Philippine Made, 2010;
Figure 6.6. The anticancer cream
Pinoy p. and Profile, 2013). 7. 16-bit
made from cashew nuts and other
Microchip local herbs. Source:
www.gineersnow.com/
For a much faster computer works, Diosdado Banatao
developed the first single chip graphical user interface
accelerator. This chip allows the computer users to make
graphical presentation using graphics for commands. Data
processing is made much quicker
using small chip instead of large board (Filipino
Discoveries, Inventions, Innovations and Products, 2013).
Figure 6.7. A 16-bit
microchip. Source: www.directindustry.com /

8. Mole Remover

Another invention was made by Rolando de la Cruz in 2000. This

is
called a mole remover which is a cream formulated to remove warts and
moles on the skin (Filipino Discoveries, Inventions, Innovations, and
Products, 2013; Lui, 2013).

Figure 6.8. Cream-formulated mole

remover. Source:
www.momsworldofartsandhappiness.
blogspot.com/

Reflection:

I have came to discover that Indigenous Science has been a core foundation of inventions and discoveries
since time can be told. It required patience, close observation, and a curious mind. And inventors have
achieved of what is required. Without them, without Indigenous Science, most things that we use today would
probably cease to exist. That is how significant this concept is to how we live today.