LESSON IV: PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINES
LESSON III: BRIEF HISTORY OF
PHILIPPINE ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeology - studies and reconstructs the
cultural events of the past through the material
remains left by people.
Unhistorical Data-There are some narratives that
have been previously accepted in Philippine
history as facts but later were found out to be
historical errors.
•Maragtas is about the 10 Malay datu from
Borneo who settled into the Philippine islands.
•Code of Kalantiaw this code was said to be a
set of ancient laws promulgated in1443 by Datu
Bendara Kalantiaw (Spanish spelling, Calantiao)
of Aklan, the third Muslim ruler of Panay.
• Princess Urduja was just an illusory creation of
Ibn Batuta, a contemporary of Marco Polo
(1254-1324)
THE NATURAL SETTING AND ITS PEOPLE
Filipino mythology-creation stories were
popularized by various tribal group of the
islands.
Bathala-(god of the Sky) created the Filipino
people
Aman Sinaya-goddess of the Sea
Amihan –goddess of theNortheast Wind
Historians claim that the Philippines is a
remnant of a lost continent in the Pacific called
Mu or Lemuria.
Asiatic Theory or Land Bridges Theory-states
that the Philippines was once part of Continental
Asia.
THE ARCHAPELAGO’S NAME
Ferdinand Magellan named the islands, Islas de
San Lazaro (Archipelago of St. Lazarus) when
he first set foot on our native soil.
Philippines came from the word Filipinas given
by the Spanish navigator Ruy Lopez de
Villalobos.
Ferdinand Marcos proposed the name
Maharlika.
Philippines- is an archipelago of 7,107 islands
and islets. it has total land area of 300,00 square
kilometers.
Manila-is the capital of the Philippines.
Luzon- the biggest is the biggest island of the
Philippines.
The Philippines has variety of ecosystem: forest,
ponds, grassland, valleys, plains, rivers, and
seas.
The Spanish colonizers of the 16th century
called Filipinos Negritos.
The early Filipinos passed through several
stages of development before Spanish:
Paleolithic Era; Neolithic Era; Age of Metal; and
Age of Contact and Trade.
Paleolithic Era- called the Old Stone Age. The
early Filipinos from 300,000 to 10,000 years ago
developed stone.
Neolithic Era- known in history as the New or
Polished Stone Age. While rough stone tools
were developed and used by the early, they
started to transform these crude implements to
carefully polished artifacts.
Age of Metals- metals like copper, bronze, iron,
tin and gold began to appear in the Philippines
between 3095 B.C and 500 B.C.
Age of Contact and Trade- The first to trade with
the early Filipino were the Arabs. Then came the
Chinese in the 13th century, who exchanged
their porcelain and ceramics with the local
pottery and stone wares.
Peralta called this period the Ceramic Age in the
Philippines in his book, Prehistory of the
Philippines.
Food and Agriculture- Early Filipinos slowly
shifted from their dependence on hunting and
food gathering to the planting of root crops like
taro and yam. Rice eventually became the staple
food in the islands.
Crafts and Industries- Early Filipinos were
skillful in pottery.
Weaving-was also practiced by our ancestors as
early as 2000 B.C. It became an integral part of
their lives, especially during the waiting period
in-between planting and harvest
Wood carving- was employed in producing
simple furniture, like tables and benches,
utensils, ritual containers, agricultural tools,
statues of anitos or ancestral spirits, and boats.
Burial Jars and Early Beliefs- Jar burial practices
in the Philippines date back to the Late New
Stone Age up to the 16th century.
Early Filipinos believed in gods, goddesses, and
supernatural forces. They worshipped anitos or
diwatas through the offering of maganito or
sacrifice, which was performed by either a
katalona (priest) or babaylan (priestess).
Idianale- Tagalog goddesses of Agriculture
Lakampati- Tagalog god of harvest
Kolyog- Ifugao god of earthquakes
Poko- Tagbanua god of the sea
Malyari- Zambal god of power and strength
Sidapa- Visayan god of death
Apolaki- Pangasinan god or war
Kidul- god of thunder
Dal'lang- Ilokano goddess of beauty
Early Arts and Music- musical instrument like
bamboo flute, bamboo guitar, musical logs,
kettle gongs, and other similar instruments were
present in the country.
Writing and Literature- Writing was already well
developed in many parts of the Philippines even
before the coming of Spaniards. Our forefathers
had their own alphabet, which was called
baybayin, which consisted of 17 letters.
bahay kubo (nipa hut)- native dwellers lived in
houses made of wood and bamboo, roofed by
nipa palm leaves.