UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS

Tuguegarao City

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, ARTS and SCIENCES

First Semester
A.Y. 2023-2024

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History

Prepared by:

RAY T. OBISPO, Ph.D.

Course Instructor

Reviewed by:

RENZ MARION C. GAVINO, MP

General Education Area Head

Recommended by:

HERBERT S. CORPUZ, Ed.D

Academic Dean

Approved by:

EMMANUEL JAMES P. PATTAGUAN, Ph.D.

Vice President for Academics

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 1

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 2
 CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE
HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History
AY 2023-2024

Lesson 3: The Tabon Caves and Callao Man

Topic: Repositories of primary sources and different kinds of primary sources which examines the
topics in:
 Santiago Alvarez, Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General
 Robert Fox, The Tabon Caves and Armand Salvador Mijares, Callao Man

Learning At the end of this module, you are expected to:

Outcomes: 1. Apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and
analyzing existing historical narratives.
2. Examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources.
3. Explain the importance of history in the social and national life of the Philippines.

Date Topics Activities or Tasks

Repositories of primary sources and
August 29- different kinds of primary sources which
September 1 examines the topics in:
 Robert Fox, The Tabon Caves and
Armand Salvador Mijares,Callao Man
 The Prehispanic Source Materials for the
September 4-8 Study of the Philippine History
Read the Lessons
Accomplish the worksheet in the
Activities Portion of this module
Read the Lessons
Accomplish the worksheet in the
Activities Portion of this module
Prepare for a Quiz

LEARNING CONTENT

Introduction:

The first kind of sources relies on remains that offer the researchers a clue about the past simply by
virtue of their existence. The wooden columns found at the date of a prehistoric settlement testify for example
to the existence of people and tell to historians something about their culture. The pegs or dowels they used to
fasten building materials further enlighten scholars about their technical skills and artistic capacities. By
comparing their artefacts with those with other places historians can further learn something of their
commercial or intellectual relations.

In contrast the testimonies are the oral or written reports that describe an event, whether simple or
complex such as the record of property exchange. The author of such testimonies can provide the historians
information about what happened, how and what the circumstances the event occurred and why it occurred.

The primary responsibilities of the historians to distinguish for readers carefully between information
that comes literally out of the source itself. To examine the different historical facts in our history we try to see a
glimpse of some of the writings of well-known historians and evaluate the manner on how they presented the
different historical events.

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 3

Lesson Proper:

THE TABON CAVE

by Robert B. Fox

Who is Robert Bradford Fox?

He was an anthropologist and leading historian on the prehispanic Philippines. Fox actively served the
National Museum of the Philippines from 1948 to 1975. In the 1960s,
he led a six- year archaeological research project in Palawan,
focused mainly on the caves and rockshelters of Lipuun Point in the
southern part of the island. Its most outstanding site is the Tabon
Cave complex, the large main cave where the only Pleistocene
human fossils in the Philippines were found.

The Tabon Cave

During the initial excavation of Tabon Cave, June and July 1962, the
scattered fossil bones of at least three individuals were excavated,
including a large fragment of a frontal bone with the brows and
portions of the nasal bone. These fossil bones were recovered at the
rear of the cave along the left wall. Unfortunately, the area in which
the fossil human bones were recovered had been disturbed by
Magapode birds.

It was not possible in 1962 to establish

the association of these bones with a specific
flake assemblage, although they were
provisionally related to either Flake Assemblage
II or III. Subsequent excavations in the same
area now strongly suggest that the fossil human
bones were associated with Flake Assemblage
III, for only the flakes of this assemblage have
been found to date to this area of the cave, the
available data would suggest that Tabon Man
may be dated from 22,000 to 24,000 years ago.
But, only further excavations in the cave and
chemical analysis of human and animal bones
from disturbed and undisturbed levels in the cave will define the exact age of the human fossils.

The fossil bones are those of Homo sapiens. These will form a separate study by a specialist which will
be included in the final site report from Tabon Cave. It is important to point out.
However because of a recent publication (Scott 1969), that a preliminary study of
the fossil bones of Tabon Man shows that it is above average in skull dimensions

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 4

when compared to the modern Filipino. There is no evidence that Tabon Man was "... amass brainy
individuals..." (Scott 1969, 36). Moreover, Scott's study includes many misstatements about the Tabon Caves.
Always the problem when writers work from "conversation."

Homo sapiens is unquestionably of great antiquity in Asia. The Niah skull is

securely dated to about 38,000 B.C., bring"...much the earliest Homo sapiens
(modern man) found so Far East" [Harrison (1964) 179]. Tabon man may be
tentatively dated to about 22,000 to 24,000 years ago. The controversial keilor
cranium found near Melbourne, Australia is claimed to date to about 16,000 B.C.
[Shutler (1865), 2; McCarthy 91961), 147].

Keilor cranium
The writer believes that the first major movement of Homo sapiens into the Philippines occurred with
the exposure of the Sunda shelf during the last glacial beginning, according to various estimates, some 45,000
to 55,000 years ago, the land bridge of the previous Riss Glacial, estimated as
terminating between 100,000 to 130,000 years ago, would appear to be too
early for any significant movements of modern man into the islands at that time.
Further excavations in Tabon Cave and other areas of Palawan during 1969-70,
the receipt of additional C-14 dates and more detailed geochronological studies
of the Quezon area and the rest of Palawan will greatly help to clarify the
Niah skull
geologic events of the late Pleistocene in Palawan and their relationship to the
upper Paleolithic cultures.

Pleistocene is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the
world's most recent period of repeated glaciations.

Riss Glaciation: the second youngest glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch in the traditional, quadripartite
glacial classification of the Alps.

Carbon 14 dating: a way of determining the age of certain archeological artifacts of a biological origin up to
about 50,000 years old. It is used in dating things such as bone, cloth, wood and plant fibers that were created
in the relatively recent past by human activities.

But certainly history has an unending discovery of what might really happen in the past or what might
be the origin of the things around us. Like the recorded earlier species of the Homo sapiens which was the
Homo erectus who may have lived here in Cagayan Valley as early as 400,000 BC together with now extinct
species like the pygmy elephant, rhinoceros, giant turtle and crocodile. For many years we believe to Homo
erectus as the oldest species of homos until Professor Armand Mijares revealed the discovery on what we call
now the Homo luzonensis found inside Callao Cave in Peñablanca, Cagayan.

CALLAO MAN
by Armand Salvador B. Mijares

Who is Armand Salvador B. Mijares?

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 5

 He is a University of the Philippines Associate Professor Armand Salvador B. Mijares, who led an
international multidisciplinary team in discovering the newest human species here in Cagayan Valley. The
project that led to the discovery of Homo luzonensis was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Leakey
Foundation Research Grant, and the University of the Philippines via the Enhanced Creative Work and
Research Grant in cooperation with the National Museum of the Philippines, the Cagayan Provincial
Government, and the Protected Area Management Board-

Peñablanca.

His group started excavating in the year 2003 but later stopped for they did not find anything, for Southeast
Asian archeologist would only excavate cave sites up to two meters. But later in the year 2004 when a
discovery in Indonesian island was found it prompted Prof. Armand to dig deeper, luckily little by little they are
unveiling another account of history from the fossils that they have discovered.

This latest discovery uncovers another story in our history. For as we connect one from the other, we
will be able to know what possibly is the root of our ancestors.

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 6

Here is an itinerary guide from USL to Callao!

CALLAO CAVE

UNIVERSITY TO ST. LOUIS

*** END of LESSON 3***

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 7

 Lesson 4: THE PREHISPANIC SOURCE MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE PHILIPPINE
HISTORY

Topic: Repositories of primary sources and different kinds of primary sources which examines the
topics in:
 The Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of the Philippine History

Learning At the end of this module, you are expected to:

Outcomes: 1. Apply the knowledge in historical methodology and philosophy in assessing and
analyzing existing historical narratives.
2. Examine and assess critically the value of historical evidences and sources.
3. Explain the importance of history in the social and national life of the Philippines.

Lesson Proper:

THE PREHISPANIC SOURCE MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY

OF THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY
By William Henry Scott

Who is William Henry Scott?

William Henry Scott was born July 10, 1921 died October
4, 1993. He was a historian of the Gran Cordillera
Central and Prehispanic Philippines.

He personally rejected the description anthropologist as

applying to himself. During the time when Ferdinand
HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 8
Marcos declared Martial law in 1972, Scott was arrested as a subversive and placed in military detention. Scott
was given "a memorable and triumphant welcome back in Sagada" following his acquittal. He continued to be
critical of the Marcos regime. Scott's first well known academic work is The Discovery of the Igorots.

Who is Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro’s Maragtas?

Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro is

the one who wrote Maragtas, or
History of Panay from the first
inhabitants and the Bornean
immigrants from which the Bisayans
are descended to the arrival of the
Spaniards, was published by Kadapig
sang Banwa (Advocate of the Town)
at the El Tiempo Press, Iloilo, in 1901.
It is written in mixed Hiligaynon and
Kin-iraya, the author having been a
native of the border region between
these two Visayan dialects. A second
edition was published by the
Makinaugalingon Press in 1929, and a third edition in 1957 by Sol Gwekoh under a copyright held by the
author's son Juanito L. Monteclaro, which differs from the original only in certain orthographic reforms and a
more colloquial version of the title.

Pedro Monteclaro was born in Miag-ao, Iloilo, on 15 October 1850, graduated from the Seminario
Colegio de Jaro in 1865, was twice married, and had five children. He served as Teniente Mayor in 1891, and
Gobernadorcillo in 1892-1894, and became a local hero during the Revolution and the American invasion both
for his leadership and diplomacy. He served as Liaison Officer during the American occupation of the area, and
was the first President of Miag-ao (1901-1903), during which period he began the researches which resulted in
his publication of the Maragtas. He was also known as a poet in both the vernacular and Spanish, and a few of
his Visayan songs have survived. He died on 13 April 1909, and is memorialized in the name of the local
Philippine Constabulary base, Camp Monteclaro, at whose gate his statue stands.

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 9

The Maragtas

The word maragtas is

used by the author as the
equivalent of the Spanish historia, and glossed in the 1957 edition with Visayan sayuron (account), though
commentators have regularly sought some Sanskrit origin for the word. (Guillermo Santiago-Cuino, for
example, considered it a corruption of a Sanskrit term meaning "great people" or "great country.") Present-day
speakers of Visayan, however, know the word only as the title of this book or of some prehispanic manuscript
believed to be its origin. It is in consideration of this latter opinion that the provenance and contents of the book
must be examined in detail.

Provenance.: Consideration of the provenance (place where something originally came or began, or a record
tracing the ownership history that helps to confirm their authenticity and value) of the Maragtas must begin with
the author's own statement as set forth in his "Foreword to the Readers," which is here quoted in full:

I wrote this Maragtas, a history of the first inhabitants of the island of Panay, with great reluctance for
fear I might be considered too presumptuous. I would therefore have refrained from writing it but for my
burning desire to reveal to the public the many data which I gathered from records about the first inhabitants of
the island of Panay, the arrival of the Datus from Borneo, their possession and settlement of our land, their
spread to different parts of the Island, and their customs and habits until the Spaniards came and ruled the
Philippines.

In order that the readers of this Maragtas should not accuse me of having merely composed this book
from imagination, I wish to mention two manuscripts I found. One of these was given to me by an 82-year old
man, who had been the first teacher of the town and who said it had been given him by his father who, in turn,
got it from his father, the old man's grandfather. The long years through which the manuscript must have
passed wore out the paper so much that it was almost impossible to handle. Worse yet, it was only written in a
black dye and smeared with sap which had burned the paper and made it almost useless. The other
manuscript I found in a bamboo tube where my grandfather used to keep his old papers. This manuscript,
however, was hardly legible at all, and was so brittle I could hardly handle it without tearing it to pieces. Having
located one manuscript, I concluded there would most likely be another copy somewhere, so I decided to
inquire of different old men and women of the town. My search was not in vain for I then came across the
aforementioned old man in the street, who even gave me the manuscripts dealing with what happened in the
town of Miag-ao from the time of its foundation. I copied these records in a book on 12 June 1901, as a
memoir for the town of Miagao, but did not publish them for the reasons stated. Besides, I was waiting for
someone better qualified to write a history of the Island of Panay from the time of its first inhabitants.

I should like my readers to know that my purpose in writing this Maragtas is not to gain honor for myself
but to transmit to others what I read in the records I collected.

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 10

 The author therefore claims the Maragtas as an original work based on various data that he collected,
which -considering its many ethnographic, linguistic and historic details, its many Spanish terms, and such
modern theories as a geological connection between Palawan and Borneo, is exactly what it sounds like.

The publisher's introduction is equally clear: The following account of history called Maragtas written by
Mr. Pedro A. Monteclaro deseribes the different ways of life of the first inhabitants of Panay Island... and] is of
great importance as a collection of many different passages which hereto fore have been scattered. The
dramatic description of the two nearly illegible documents among these data is intended, as the author
explicitly states, to show that the work is not sheer fiction: he carefully records the exact date when he first
copied them down but neither states nor implies that they are transcribed in the present work; moreover, the
contents of one of them-"what happened in the town of Miag-ao from the time of its foundation"- does not
directly concern the subject matter and is relegated to the last page of the epilogue. n the same epilogue, he
emphasizes his having consulted "all the old men of every town" by giving his reason-"my documents did not
give me clear and complete data on the things of the past."

SUMMARY OF THE MARAGTAS

The Maragtas consists of a publisher's introduction by Salvador

Laguda, the author's "Foreword to the Readers," six chapters and an epilogue
entitled, "Author's concluding statements to his countrymen in the island of
Panay." Although the author of the Maragtas did not provide any data or clues
by which the authenticity of this code could be established, an interesting
parallel appeared in Cuillermo Santiago-Cuino s "El Codigo de Maragtas" in
the 20 February 1938 issue of FI Debate, which professed to have been
translated direct from "ancient Filipino writing."

It was based on written and oral sources then available, and contains
three sorts of subject matter folk customs still being practiced or remembered
by old folks, the description of an idealized political confederation whose
existence there are reasonable grounds to doubt and for which there is no
evidence, and a legend recorded in 1858 of a migration of Bornean settlers, some of whom are still
remembered as folk heroes, pagan deities, or progenitors of part of the present population of Panay. There is
no reason to doubt that this legend preserves the memory of some actual event itself or to decide which of its
details are historic facts and which are the embellishments of generations of oral transmission.

The Boxer Codex

The Boxer Codex, sometimes known as the Manila Manuscript contains illustrations of ethnic groups
in the Philippines, ethnic groups across Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Micronesia at the time of their initial
contact with the Spaniards with additional Taoist mythological deities and demons, and both real and
mythological birds and animals copied from popular Chinese texts and books in circulation at the time

The Boxer Codex depicts the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanes or possibly Ibanags,
and Negritos of the Philippines in vivid color. The technique of the paintings, as does the use of Chinese paper,
ink, and paints, suggests that the unknown artist may have been Chinese.

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 11

 It is believed that the original owner of the manuscript was Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, son of Governor
General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, who was killed in 1593 by Sangleys or Chinese living in the Philippines.
Luis succeeded his father in office as Governor-General of the Philippines. Since Spanish colonial governors
were required to submit written reports on the territories they governed, it is likely that the manuscript was
written under the orders of the governor.

*** END of LESSON

Some of the illustrations of early Filipinos in Boxer Codex 4***

Week 3 and 4
LEARNING TASK

Instruction: Answer the following questions briefly but substantially.

1. The module discussed the discovery of the Tabon man as well as the Homo erectus and the recent one
the Homo luzonensis. What does it explain about history? Explain your stand in at least 5 but not more
than 10 sentences.(15 pts)
Rubrics:
Content- 7
Grammar/mechanics- 5
Organization- 3

PARTICIPATION

Instruction: Think about or reflect on your past. Has your past influenced you one way or another? How does
your past shape your identity and behavior? Explain your answer in at least 3 sentences but not more than 5
sentences.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Rubrics:
HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 12
Content- 10
Grammar/mechanics- 7
Organization- 3

EVALUATION

TRUE or FALSE: Write History if the statement is correct and Maragtas if it is not.
_____1. An examination of the past can tell us a great deal about how we came to be who we are.
_____2. History means “the present of mankind”.
_____3. History includes people’s beliefs, desires and practices.
_____4. The English word history is derived from the Latin word istoia.
_____5. Different and new perspectives will enable us to analyze critically the present contexts of
society and beings.
_____6.Carolina S. Malay graduated from the University of the East.
_____7.Robert Bradford Fox ,he was an anthropologist and leading historian on the Prehispanic.
_____8.The initial excavation of Tabon Cave, was on June and July 1960
_____9. Homo sapiens is questionably of great antiquity in the world..
_____10. Associate Professor Armand Salvador B. Mijares, who led an international multidisciplinary
team in discovering the newest human species here in Cagayan Valley.

REFERENCES

Textbooks

Martinez, R. et. Al (2018). The Readings in the Philippine History. Mindshapers co. Inc.

Online Reference

Photograph Courtesy of © Callao Cave Archaeology Project. (2019, April 10). New species of ancient human
discovered in the Philippines. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/new-species-ancient-human-discovered-luzon-
philippines-homo-luzonensis/

Encarnacion, A. (2019, April 11). UP-led international team discovers new human species in the Philippines.
Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www.up.edu.ph/up-led-international-team-discovers-new-
human-species-in-the-philippines/

William Henry Scott (historian). (2020, August 15). Retrieved September 01, 2020, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Scott_(historian)

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 13

Margaux, The Visual Traveler May 12, 2018
Retrieved September 3, 2020 from https://www.thevisualtraveler.net/2018/05/boxer-codex-this-is-what-
16th-century.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR0yBHKVtglRS2QwWXPKPtwfZ6KOxReZ9q-
AUm1e8JDMjaOoVBnWSs5kEjc

Learning Materials

1. Worksheets (teacher-made)
2. Video clip (Homo luzonensis) https://youtu.be/M9NadEUN9vw

HIST 1013- Readings in Philippine History Module 2 | 14