1 FIRST SETTLERS

Tabon Man
Hominid remains dating back to around 28,550 B.C. old have were found in Tabon Cave on the
island of Palawan. It is possible there were people much earlier than this. People have lived in
Australia for 60,000 years.
According to Lonely Planet: “Thanks to 'Tabon Man', who left a bit of his (or her, according to
some) skull in a cave in Palawan at least 47, 000 years ago, a sliver of light shines into the deep,
dark prehistory of the Philippines. The oldest known human relic of the islands, this bone
fragment suggests that the Tabon Caves helped early Homo sapiens survive the last ice age.

Negritos (Aeta) in the Philippines

The Philippines were probably first occupied by people who arrived in small migrations from
mainland Southeast Asia. The first of these were believed to be Negritos. The only survivors of
the original hunter gathers that inhabited Southeast Asia are Semang Negritos of peninsular
Malaysia and the Negritos of the mountains of Luzon and some islands of the Philippines.
Negritos---or the Aeta as they are sometimes called in the Philippines— are very small people
with a dark skin and curly brown hair. The Aeta are thought to have arrived in the Philippines
between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago from the Asian continent, most likely from what is now
the Malay Peninsula or Borneo (and perhaps even Australia). In earlier times they lived
widespread throughout the Philippines. Today they are live only in the remote highland areas of
Luzon, Palawan, Panay, Negros and Mindanao.

Arrival of Malay People in the Philippines

It is believed that around 3000 B.C. Malay people—or people that evolved into the Malay tribes
that dominate Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines—arrived in the Philippines. About 2300
years ago Malay people from the Asian mainland or Indonesia arrived in the Philippines and
brought a more advanced culture; iron melting and production of iron tools, pottery techniques
and the system of sawah's (rice fields). Additional migrations took place over the next millennia.
Many believe the first Malays were seafaring, tool-wielding Indonesians who introduced formal
farming and building techniques. According to Lonely Planet: “It's fair to assume that this bunch
was busily carving out the spectacular rice terraces of North Luzon some 2000 years ago. With
the Iron Age came the Malays. Skilful sailors, potters and weavers, they built the first
permanent settlements and prospered from around the A.D. 1st century until the 16th century,
when the Spanish arrived. The wave migration theory holds that the Malays arrived in at least
three ethnically diverse waves. The first wave provided the basis for the modern-day Bontoc
and other tribes of North Luzon. The second laid the foundations for the most dominant of
modern-day indigenous groups - the Bicolano, Bisayan and Tagalog. The third wave is thought
to have established the fiercely proud Muslim Malays.”
Chinese Links to First Wave of Settlers to the Philippines
The ancestors of modern Laotians, Thais and possibly Burmese, Cambodians, Filipinos and
Indonesians originated from southern China. This belief is partly based on linguistic evidence.
The Austronesian family of languages—which are spoken as far west as Madagascar, as far
south of New Zealand, as far east as Easter island and which all Philippine and Polynesian
languages belong— most likely originated in China. A great diversity of these languages is found
in Taiwan, which has led some to conclude they originated there or on the nearby mainland.
Others believe they may have originated in Borneo or Sulawesi or some other place.
The ancestors of modern Southeast Asian people arrived from Tibet and China about 2,500
years ago, displacing the aboriginal groups that occupied the land first. They subsisted on rice
and yams which they may have been introduced to Africa. In the Philippines, Austronesian-
speaking people probably began arriving around 3000 B.C., most likely via Taiwan. After that
they came in successive waves. The early people are believed to have migrated from south
China through Taiwan and into Luzon and then followed the Cagayan River Valley.

2 ECONOMIC LIFE
Anyplace in the archipelago, creation in light of common assets was the principle wellspring of
vocation among the early Filipinos. The physical condition impacted additionally customs,
convictions, standards, ceremonies, and social relations. For the most part, the financial
existence of the early Filipinos spun around three natural specialties.
Ocean based Societies
For those living along beach front ranges, the ocean was of prime significance for consistently
action. For the Badjaos of Sulu, for instance, their recognition with the headings of the wind
was indispensable when they sail to the untamed oceans. The ocean gave practically everything
sustenance and solution fundamental for survival. The Visayan invested quite a bit of his energy
in the water with his pontoon for it was his exclusive methods for transportation. Nobody lived
past 40 kilometers from the seashore. Introduction was centered not around the sun's
development but rather on the ocean's ebb and flow. A rancher from the island of Batayan
would cruise towards Cebu to plant rice in that island; the mineworkers from Camarines would
cross the maritime to Masbate; that is the reason the youthful educated his group's convention
by tuning in to the sound made by the ocean as he paddled.
Social orders along the Plains
Individuals flourishing in fields had a great position in exchange. Things from and past the
oceans Chinese porcelain and metal items, gongs, salt, and woven material were fundamentally
the items that the general population of the fields exchanged with those originating from the
mountains. These people group exploited their land area, that is, their vicinity to the ocean, to
market courses, and their entrance to outside merchandise and different markets.
Anyone was permitted to plant anyplace for empty parts were sufficiently wide for everyone.
Millet and bananas were the normal plants. Sago (lumbia) and gabi (taro) resembled grasses
that developed all over the place. Rice fields were normally situated at the foot of mountains.
Mountain-based Societies
The general population of the mountains were occupied with broad rice cultivating. The general
population of the Cordilleras [e.g., I-Benguet, Ifugaos, Bontoks] are noted for their rice porches.
Profitability was expanded by the utilization of water system trench. Some were likewise into
mining. Mountain individuals exchanged backwoods items and valuable metals (gold and
copper) with the wares of the lowlanders or individuals of the fields.
Boat Building Industry
Boat building was a thriving industry in the Philippines before the success. The way toward
building ships demonstrates that the early Filipinos were exceedingly educated of the various
types of wood appropriate for pontoons. Cruising was a pre-Hispanic information that made
ready for political and financial relations with different countries.
Obviously, water crafts did encourage between island exchange (residential), as well as more
imperatively, universal exchange and travel. One preacher noticed that the water crafts were
developed without nails. In Catanduanes, the watercraft developers initially made a
tremendous pontoon, and inside it would be a little vessel and in that little pontoon would be a
littler one, et cetera. A colossal pontoon would in any event contain 10-12 littler ones. These
water crafts were sold in Leyte, Batangas and Mindoro.
Indigenous vessels were cut out of single tree-trunk, and a portion of the greater ones had
situates or seats. There were many sorts of pontoons that the early Filipinos utilized: the
balanghaia slim, with tight stern and fore, light and low-lying, held together with wooden jolts.
It had stick bamboo outriggers to hold the vessel on the surface of the water, adding to its
speed and adjust; the caracoa was smooth, twofold finished, and could go ahead or in reverse
without pivoting. Twofold outriggers for warriors permitted speedier moving.
There was the paraw , which was typically utilized as a part of streams and sounds for
exchanging. It had two oars and a triangular sail. A paraw was utilized to transport loads from
boats to the seashore. It was likewise used to escort caracoa amid the direct of pangangayaw.
Alternate businesses of pre-Hispanic Philippines included: stoneware, weaving, mining,
ambling, animals raising, wine-production, and angling. Bargain (trade of products to
merchandise) was the predominant financial framework locally and globally.
Albeit early Spanish recorders detailed that the locals had no learning of cash, this is generally
debated by neighborhood numismatists because of the crowds of piloncitos that have been
uncovered in different parts of the nation. Piloncito is a little gold piece no bigger than a pea,
formed like an adjusted cone, with a character stamped in alleviation at the base. The
Philippine piloncitos are practically indistinguishable to those recorded as the perceived
coinage in Java as ahead of schedule as the tenth or eleventh century, and those of Thailand
amid the Sri-Vijayan period. This, being the situation, would then bring up that piloncito is the
soonest coinage utilized as a part of the Philippines.

3 SOCIAL LIFE

Philippine society is a unique blend of diversity and homogeneity. Although geographically part
of Southeast Asia, the country is culturally strongly Euro-American. Forces of assimilation have
constantly worked to overcome cultural differences between the various ethnic groups that are
scattered—sometimes in relative isolation—throughout the archipelago. Nearly four centuries
of Western rule, however, have left an indelible imprint on the Philippines, serving as
a conduit for the introduction of Western culture and as the catalyst for the emergence of a
sense of Philippine political and cultural unity. While the Christian churches built by the Spanish
and the mosques built by the Muslims provided a spiritual anchor, the educational system
established by the United States and expanded by the Filipinos has become emblematic of
cultural unity and socioeconomic progress. Nonetheless, through the persistence of strong
family ties, the revival of the barangay as the smallest unit of government, increased attention
to Asian history and literature, and subsequent revival of dormant traditions, the Philippines
has strengthened its Asian heritage without abandoning its Western cultural acquisitions.
Daily life and social customs
Life in the Philippines generally revolves around the extended family, including parents,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins (up to several times removed), and other relatives. For
Catholic families, godparents—those to whom care of children is entrusted should the parents
die or otherwise be incapacitated—also figure prominently in the kinship network. Members of
extended families typically gather for major life events such as baptisms and confirmations (for
Catholic Filipinos), circumcisions (for Muslim Filipinos), and marriages, as well as for major
religious and other national holidays. Among the religious holidays officially observed in the
Philippines are Christmas and Easter, as well as Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan. Other major holidays include New Year’s Day, Labor Day (May 1),
and Independence Day (June 12).
Whether festival fare or everyday food, major meals in most Filipino societies are built around
boiled or steamed rice or rice noodles. Small amounts of meat, including chicken, pork (in non-
Muslim communities), goat, or fish complement the rice or noodle core, along with an
assortment of fruits and cooked vegetables. Assorted alcoholic drinks are made from coconut
sap, sugarcane, and rice. Balut, a parboiled embryonic duck still in the egg, is a popular street
food in the Manila area.
Although slacks, shirts, skirts, and dresses based on European designs are common throughout
the Philippines, some garments are unique to particular groups or regions. The malong, a
colourful woven tube of cloth that can be worn in a variety of ways by both men and women, is
characteristic of Muslim communities in Mindanao. In the urban areas, many men wear an
intricately embroidered shirt, the barong, for casual and formal events. On special occasions,
urban women may wear the terno, a long dress characterized by broad “butterfly” sleeves that
rise slightly at the shoulders and extend about to the elbow. Many of the smaller ethnic groups
have characteristic attire for events of special cultural significance.