Science and Technology in Pre-Colonial Period in the Philippines Setting Pre-Colonial

in the Philippines started at 15th to 17th century. In the history of science and technology
in the Philippines there was few written information about Philippine society, culture and
technology before the arrival of Spaniards in 1521.
According to these sources, the early Filipinos had attained a generally simple level of
technological development, compared with those of the Chinese and Japanese, but this
was sufficient of their needs at that period of time.
 
. Based on the Philippine science history, even before the colonization by the Spaniards
in the Philippines, the natives of the archipelago already had practices to link to science
and technology. Filipinos already gained knowledge of the medical and therapeutic
properties of plants and the methods of extracting medicine from herbs that is known
as herbal medicines in their time. They also developed alphabet and number system
which help them in better communication. Filipinos were already engaged in farming
activities, like planting wheat and crops, shipbuilding for transportation, mining and
weaving which they created our first clothes called “baro’ tsaya”

In the Pre-Spanish Era, Filipinos had already engaged in the field of engineering where
Banaue Rice Terraces located at Ifugao is one of the best product they developed
during that time. In addition, the colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth the
science and technology field. The Spanish introduced formal education and founded
scientific institution. During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines, Parish
schools were established where religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music was
taught. Sanitation and more advance methods of agriculture was taught to the early
Filipinos which help them to improve their agricultural land.
Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the natives of
the archipelago already had practices linked to science and technology. Filipinos were
already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and the methods of
extracting medicine from herbs. They already had an alphabet, number system, a
weighing and measuring system and a calendar. Filipinos were already engaged in
farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving.
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription shows the use of mathematics in precolonial
Philippine societies. A standard system of weights and measures is demonstrated by
the use of precise measurement for gold, and familiarity with rudimentary astronomy is
shown by fixing the precise day within the month in relation to the phases of the moon.
Shipbuilding showed geometric thinking and mastery of convexity, concavity, and the
proper proportion between ship breadth and length to ensure sailing efficiency. The
practice of constructing as much as twelve ships and boats to fit inside each other, not
unlike matryoshka dolls containing each other, can be interpreted as large three-
dimensional wooden demonstration of sets, subsets, volumes, and ordinality. [3]
The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-
Spanish era Filipinos