TOPIC #4

PHILIPPINE PREHISTORY
Historians aren't sure when the first people arrived in the
Philippines.
However, researchers have found evidence of people in the
country who most likely from 770,000 years ago.

Austronesian People - An ethnic group that settled on many parts

of SEA.
1 000 BCE - The Filipinos started to establish social classes.
1st century CE - The villages become fully developed.
Barangay - Small social unit in the Philippines.
A RICH ST O RE
HO U SE OF
AN TIQ UIT Y
 A RICH STORE HOUSE OF
ANTIQUITY
The Philippines is one of the
world’s richest storehouse of
antiquity with treasures from
four cultural heritages: Asian,
European, Latin, and
American

● This country's prehistoric and

prehispanic material culture
displays ancient settlements and
a well-developed international
trading system prior to contact
with the West in 16th Century.
○ In 1976, nine ancient
Balanghai boats were
discovered in Butuan.
Balanhai-I, now on display at
the Butuan museum, is dated
320 AD by Tokyo Gakunshuin
University, predating Viking
ship relics in European
museums.
In 2010, Sama-Badjao
craftsmen and Filipino
adventurers built a replica
of the balangay, attempting
to prove their
seaworthiness through a
14,000km Southeast Asian
journey.
AGE SURPASSING
WORLDWIDE FINDS

Over a thousand Sung Dynasty

(960-1278) porcelains in Sta.
Ana cemetery in the 1960s
amazed collectors and
connoisseurs about ancestry's
culture and wealth
● Tribal minorities preserve ancestral customs and
traditions as living relics.
● Minority tribes in isolated mountain regions
maintain distinct identities.
● Example images of the Filipinos in their Tribal
Costumes that still remain as part of the traditional
culture up to this day:
B'LAAN
T’BOLI
MARANAW
IFUGAO
IBALOI
 is toric ar ch ae o lo gic al
Preh
sites in Cag ay an Va lle y
since th e 19 70 s
THE CALLAO CAVE

- This site is located in

Cagayan Valley.
- One of the UNESCO’s
world heritage sites,

A 67,000-year-old foot
bone was found in this
cave and is the oldest
human fossil found in
the Asia-Pacific so far.
Sunken galleons off Philippine
coasts await divers and marine
archaeologists to uncover ancient
treasures.