ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History PDF

ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Lesson 2.1: Pre-Filipino Historical Source Lesson Sum...

ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Lesson 2.1: Pre-Filipino Historical Source Lesson Summary This lesson will be focused on the analysis of primary sources from the pre-Filipino period in Philippine history. The primary source materials to be tackled in this particular lesson are artifacts of the Philippines during the pre-Filipino period. Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson, you are expected to: 1. Name and familiarize artifacts from the pre-Filipino period of Philippine history. 2. Create a concept map of archaeological evidence as a starting point for content analysis. Motivation Question Do you have old items at home? Have you ever been to a museum? Did you know that these museums house many artifacts that may tell you events that happened in the past? How well do you know your pre-Filipino past?  ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Discussion It is the purpose of this course to let you experience being exposed to primary sources in Philippine history. In the case of the Philippines, historical documents about the country “Philippines/Felipinas” was only started being written during the colonial period. Written information about the islands now known as the Philippines before it was colonized is also available in the records of the Chinese and Japanese who were our trading partners during the olden times. It is important to note though that not all the sources of history are written documents. The Philippines have recovered and stored several artifacts which also instrumental in painting a picture of what was the Philippines like before it was called the Philippines. One way to process archaeological sources for information is to use concept mapping. Concept maps are tools for organizing and representing knowledge (Novak, 1990). It is a graphic organized or a visual map of a certain concept. Concepts may be concrete objects or abstract ideas. It may be done by linking aspects of the concept to the central concept – the archaeological source. Figure 1 A concept map of the Tabon remains The figure above is an example of using concept mapping to process information about an archaeological source. From the figure above, you can create  ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University an essay about the general concept (Tabon man skull cap) from the linked concepts. Look at the paragraph below: The Tabon man skull cap was discovered on May 28, 1962, at the Tabon Cave in Palawan by Dr. Robert B. Fox, an anthropologist. The fossil is said to have been from an old human female. According to the archaeological dating system, the fossil is dated 16500 years old (from 14500BC). One importance of this archaeological evidence to Philippine history is that it served as concrete evidence of human existence in the islands several thousand years ago. Prof. F. Landa Jocano, a professor of the University of the Philippines, used this discovery to propose his theory of earlier evolution and movement. Based on the fossil, he posited that the peopling of the islands of the Philippines was not a product of the wave of migrations of outsiders – a contradiction to Prof. Otley Beyer’s Wave Migration Theory. Pre-Filipino Artifacts There are many artifacts left by our ancestors to us. Many of these artifacts became instrumental to how Filipinos picture history before the coming of the colonials to our land. Most of these artifacts tell us about the practices of the pre- Filipino inhabitants of the land. Among the many artifacts, the most mainstream of them can be found now in the National Museum of the Philippines. Some of these mainstream artifacts about pre-Filipino history are the Manunggul jar, Maitum anthropomorphic pots, Butuan ivory seal, and the Butuan silver paleograph. Manunggul jar Perhaps one of the more famous artifacts in Philippine history is the Manunggul jar. Its popularity can be credited to how it is talked of in the elementary and high school history curricula in the Philippine school system. It is also an artifact featured in an old peso bill. In terms of discovery, the jar was discovered by Dr. Robert B. Fox and Miguel Antonio in 1962 from Manunggul Cave, Lipuun point, Palawan which is close by the area from which the Tabon remains were recovered. It is said to be dated 890-710 BC, which is the Figure 2 The Manunggul Jar. (from:https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmus Neolithic Period (new stone eumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Manunggul.html) age). The main purpose of this  ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University jar is for secondary burial. It is 26.2 inches in height and 20 inches in diameter in its widest area. It sports a top cover that has a boat with two human-like figures. It also has wave-like designs imbedded in the upper areas. This jar’s importance to the construction of the pre-Filipino period in our history is it gives us an idea of the culture and practices the old inhabitants of the islands have. For example, the practice of secondary burial is not common to modern society anymore, but this kind of practice was done by our ancestors. Furthermore, the design of the jar might also tell us about the beliefs of our ancestors, such as how water is instrumental to them from the wave-like design. Lastly, it tells us our ancestors’ belief on the journey of man’s soul after he/she dies. Maitum anthropomorphic jars Another pottery left by our ancestors which is evidence of the practice of secondary burial is the Maitum anthropomorphic jars/pots. As the name suggests, it is called anthropomorphic because these many jars try to present the human form. These jars were discovered in Ayub Cave, Brgy. Pinol, Maitum, Sarangani province by the National Museum of the Philippines Figure 3 Maitum Anthropomorphic Jar. (from: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbet Archaeology Team. The a/Collections/Archaeo/pots.png) pots were dated to be from the period of early metal age from 5BC – 225 AD. There are 29 jars/pots which were of many sizes and shapes and are viewed unique from each other. As for its importance to pre- Filipino history, same as the Manunggul jar, the anthropomorphic pots also give us a clue of the practices of our ancestors, particularly about their view of death and burial.  ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Butuan ivory seal The Butuan ivory seal (BIS) was recovered from the 1970s. It was found in Libertad, Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. Archaeologists date the artifact to be from 9th-12th century AD, which is still significantly happened before the first colonizers came to the Philippine islands. It is described to have been made of ivory tusks made from a rhinoceros horn. It also sports the word “But- Ban”(Butuan) in the ancient writing script Kavi/Kawi/Ancient Javanese. The writing was deciphered by Dr. Antoon Postma, a Dutch expert on Figure 4 Butuan Ivory Seal. (from: Kavi. This ivory seal is said to have https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmu been used to stamp documents of seumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/seal.png) trade and commerce in Butuan during the olden days. This artifact is a very important relic of the past which serves as evidence to the existence of a complex trading system in the islands and its neighbors. It also gives us an idea of the existence of old writing systems in the islands before the Spaniards introduced the writing system we are familiar with now. Butuan silver strip The Butuan silver strip, also known as Butuan silver paleograph, is a 17.8 by 1.3 cm strip made of silver which sports engraving said to may have been carved out using a knife. It was said to have been found in one wooden coffin by treasure hunters. It eventually ended up in the hands of the city engineer of Butuan, Proceso Gonzales. Based on the writings in the artifact, experts date the artifact to have been from the 14th to 15th century. The writing is said to be in Eskaya script, a script said to be originating in Bohol. Dr. Beochari of Indonesia pointed out that the script used in the silver strip is also similar to Kavi (ancient Javanese). As for its importance to Philippine history, it also serves as evidence of the existence of pre-Filipino writing scripts that are related to our neighboring countries. Aside from that, it can also be evidence of trading since silver is a metal that is not existent or at the very least rare in our land. Figure 5. Butuan Silver Strip. (from: http://bibingka.baybayin.com/dahon/mystery/silver.html)  ScSc12n – Readings in Philippine History Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences Visayas State University Many other important artifacts in the pre-Filipino period in the Philippines are listed and exhibited in the National Museum of the Philippines (https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/). Among the many, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription is noteworthy since it is the earliest dated evidence of a writing system in the Philippines. Another is the Golden Tara which connects our ancestors to our neighboring lands through religion, particularly Hinduism.