Paulo Tambolero

BASS Economics Block 2

History/Kasaysayan 1
Why is the Filipino culture not as glorious as that of other neighboring cultures and
ancient civilizations like India, China, and Mesopotamia?
Every textbook related to the field of history contains the tales and information of the
greatest civilizations that once dominated a specific geographical area at a certain point in time.
These civilizations played a vital role for they shaped cultures and created events that resulted in
the current manifestation of the world (Miaschi 2019). Originating from the Latin word civis,
meaning "citizen", civilization is defined as a complex society of humans who dwelled in urban
settlements otherwise known as cities (Sue 2018). In the light of the reason for this paper, answers
as to why the Filipino culture isn't as glorious as its neighboring cultures must be reached.
There are six major characteristics that civilization encompasses: 1) large population
centers; 2) monumental architecture and unique art styles; 3) shared communication strategies; 4)
systems for administering territories; 5) a complex division of labor; and 6) the division of people
into social and economic classes (Sue 2018). During the pre-colonial era in the Philippines, there
were complex societies located along its coastlines known as "chiefdoms" (Junker 1994). These
domains were ruled by a chief, it had a systematic social hierarchy, and distribution of labor among
the members was practiced. Trades with neighboring countries also occurred in these areas. The
ancient system of writing known as the Baybayin can imply that shared communication strategies
were already established. With the aforementioned facts, it is blatant that the Philippines did have
civilizations.
As an archipelagic country divided into numerous chiefdoms, forming a single and united
civilization isn't feasible during the pre-colonial time. There was no concept of wholeness and a
single country but rather these people lived with respect to each other's differences (Oxoa 2017).
Additionally, one salient factor that made the other cultures "glorious" compared to ours is the
existence of a predominant religion that promoted unity. In contrast, the early people of the
Philippines practiced harmony and animism. The nomadic lifestyle of the early Filipinos since
they are sea-faring folks can also be a factor that could answer the mystery. Instead of settling in
one landscape and establishing megalithic structures, they kept on moving from one place to
another in search of resources.

Junker, Laura Lee. 1994. "Trade Competition, Conflict, and Political Transformations in Sixth-to Sixteenth-Century Philippine Chiefdoms."
Asian Perspectives 229-260.

Miaschi, John. 2019. WorldAtlas. August 27. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-of-the-world-s-oldest-
civilizations.html.

Oxoa, Pia. 2017. Quora. September 4. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Filipino-culture-not-as-glorious-as-
that-of-other-great-ancient-civilizations-like-Greece-China-or-India?fbclid=IwAR2ShZVIz-
AqBvdm3PmUypH4hUanLolN_WLy82Oinp6dRwkFTwLFdQNpNEE.

Sue, Caryl. 2018. National Geographic. February 6. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/key-components-
civilization/.