The early inhabitants of the archipelago had their own culture and traditions
- Own belief system and indigenous knowledge
- Keeps them organized and sustained their lives and communities for many years.
Pre-Spanish Philippines
- Embedded in the way of life
SCIENCE
- Planting crops that provide them food
- Taking care of animals
- Food production
- Interpret the movements of heavenly bodies to predict seasons and climates
- Medicinal uses of plants
TECHNOLOGY
- Building houses
- Irrigations
- Developing tools
- Musical instruments
STONE AGE
Archeological findings show that modern man from Asian mainland first came over land on across narrow channels to live in
Batangas and Palawan about 48,000 B.C. Subsequently they formed settlement in Sulu, Davao, Zamboanga, Samar, Negros,
Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and Cagayan.
Inventions
They made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes and later developed method of sawing and polishing stones around 40,000
B.C. By around 3,000 B.C. they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells and pottery. Pottery flourished for the next 2,000
years until they imported Chinese porcelain. Soon they learned to produce copper, bronze, iron, and gold metal tools and
ornaments.
Iron Age
The Iron Age lasted from there third century B.C. to 11th century A.D. During this period Filipinos were engaged in extraction
smelting and refining of iron from ores, until the importation of cast iron from Sarawak and later from China.
Inventions/Discoveries
They learn to weave cotton, make glass ornaments, and cultivate lowland rice and dike fields of terraced fields utilizing spring
water in mountain regions. They also learned to build boats for trading purposes. Spanish chronicles noted refined plank built
warships called caracoa suited for interisland trade raids.
10th century A.D.
Filipinos from the Butuan were trading with Champa (Vietnam) and those from Ma-I (Mindoro) with China as noted in Chinese
records containing several references to the Philippines. These archaeological findings indicated that regular trade relations
between the Philippines, China and Vietnam had been well established from the 10th century to the 15th century A.D.
Trading
The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu (Palawan) traded bee wax, cotton, pearls, coconut heart mats, tortoise shell and medicinal betel
nuts, panie cloth for porcelain, leads fishnets sinker, colored glass beads, iron pots, iron needles and tin.
Metal Age influence
- Gold and silver jewelry
- Trading with other countries
- Indigenous or Folk Science
Philippine Artifacts
1. The Angono Petroglyphs are petroglyphs carved into a rock wall in Angono, Rizal, Philippines.
- It consists of 127 human and animal figures engraved on the rock wall probably carved during the late Neolithic, or before 2000
BC. They are the oldest known work of art in the Philippines
2. Manunggul Jar 895-775 BC
- The burial jar which is unrivaled in Southeast Asia and considered as the work of a master potter, signifies the belief of early
Filipinos in life after death. It is dated to the late Neolithic Period, about 890-710 В.С
3. Laguna Copperplate
- The plate was found in 1989 by a laborer near the mouth of the Lumbang River in Wawa, Lumban, Laguna.
- The inscription was written in Old Malay using the Kawi script with Sanskrit and Old Javanese influences in the year 822 A.D.
4. Golden Tara
- Agusan Gold Image, a priceless thirteenth century statue of a Hindu-Malayan goddess discovered in the Philippines in 1917,
made of 4 pounds of solid 21-karat Gold
5. Gold Death Mask
- Oton, Iloilo 1300-1400 AD Long before the coming of the Spaniards, early inhabitants used gold ornaments for the the dead. The
face of the corpse was covered with delicately worked sheets of gold.
Spanish Rule
- Brought their own culture and practices
- Established schools and introduced the concepts of subjects and disciplines
- Learning of science in school focuses on understanding different concepts related to the human body, plants, animals and
bodies.
- Technology focuses on using and developing house tools
Life during the Spanish era
• Became modernized
- Filipinos replicated technology brought by the Spaniards using indigenous materials. Medicine and advanced science were
introduced in formal colleges and universities
GALLEON TRADE
- The galleon trade was supplied by merchants largely from port areas of Fujian who traveled to Manila to sell the Spaniards
spices, porcelain, ivory, processed silk cloth and other valuable commodities.
- From 1565 to 1815, the galleon trade contributed to the change of culture, language and environment for both Philippines and
Mexico.
- The Galleon Trade was a government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One sailed from Acapulco to Manila with some
500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days at sea; the other sailed from Manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos
worth of goods spending 90 days at sea.
- The country became one of the centers of global trade in SEA - One of the most developed places in the region.
- Superstitious beliefs and Catholic doctrines and practices halted the growth of science in the country
1901-1935 (The American Period)
- More influence in the Development of Science & Technology
Public Education System
- Improved engineering works and health of the people
- Mineral resources were explored and exploited
- “Americanize" the Filipinos Reorganized the learning of science
- In basic education, science education focuses on nature studies and science and sanitation.
The country had a difficult time to rebuild itself from the ruins of the war
- The human spirit to survive and to rebuild the country may be strong but the capacity of the country to bring back what was
destroyed was limited.
New Republic
Focusing on using its limited resources in improving S&T capability. Use of Overseas Development Allocation to improve
scientific productivity and technological capability. Human resource development
10 HALAMANG GAMOT
REPUBLIC ACT 8423 Otherwise known as TAMA TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ACT OF 1997
- An act creating the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to accelerate the development of
traditional and alternative health care in the Philippines, providing for a traditional and alternative health care development
fund and for other purposes.
S – Sambong B - Bayabas
A – Akapulko Y – Yerba Buena
N - Niyog-yugan
T - Tsaang Gubat
A - Ampalaya
L - Lagundi
U - Ulasimang Bato
B - Bawang
SAMBONG Scientific Name: Blumea balsamifera
- A plant that reaches 1 12 to 3 meters in height with rough hairy leaves.
- Young plants around mother plant may be separated when they have three leaves or more
USES: Anti-edema Diuretic Anti-urolithiasis
PREPARATION: Boil chopped leaves in water for 15 minutes until one glassful remains. Cool and strain. Divide decoction into 3
parts. Drink one part 3 times a day. NOTE: Sambong is not a medicine for kidney infection
AKAPULKO Scientific Name: Cassia alata
- Ringworm Bush
- Bayas-bayasan
- This plant is about 1 to 2 meters tall
- The leaves are embraced with 8 to 20 oblong- elliptical shaped leaflets It has flowers with oblong sepals
USES: Anti-fungal: Tinea Flava, Ringworm, Athlete 's Foot and Scabies Akapulko
PREPARATION: Fresh, matured leaves are pounded. Apply as a soap to the affected part 1 to 2 times a day.
NIYUG-NIYOGAN Scientific Name: Quisqualis indica L.
- Chinese Honey Suckle
- A vine which bears tiny fruits and grows wild in backyards.
- The seeds must come from mature, dried but newly opened fruits.
- Propagated through stem cuttings gs about 20cm in height.
USES: Anti-helmintic (used to expel parasitic worms.)
PREPARATION: Seeds of niyug-niyogan are eaten raw two hours before the patient's last meal of the day. Adults may take 10
seeds; children 4 to 7 years of age may eat up to four seeds only; ages 8 to 9 may take six seeds and seven seeds may be eaten
by children 10 to 12 years old. Not to be given to children below four years old.
TSAANG GUBAT Scientific Name: Carmona retusa
- Forest Tea or Wild Tea
- A shrub with small, shiny nice-looking leaves that in wild uncultivated areas and grows forests.
USES: Diarrhea Stomach ache
PREPARATION: Boil the following amount of chopped leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes or until amount of water goes
down to 1 glass. Cool and strain. Wash leaves and chop. Boil chopped leaves in 1 glass of water for 15 minutes. Cool and
filter/strain and drink.
AMPALAYA Scientific Name: Momordica charantia
- Bitter Gourd or Bitter melon
- A climbing vine with tendrils that grow up to 20 cms long.
- Leaves are heart- shaped, which are 5 to 10 cms in diameter Fruits have ribbed and wrinkled surface that are fleshy green with
pointed ends at length and has a bitter taste.
USES: Lowers blood sugar levels Diabetes Mellitus (Mild-non insulin dependent)
PREPARATION: Gather and wash young leaves very well. Chop. Boil 6 tablespoons in two glassfuls of water for 15 minutes under
low fire. Do not cover pot. Cool and strain. Take one third cup 3 times a day after meals.
LAGUNDI Scientific Name: Vitex negundo
- Leaved-Chaste Tree
- A shrub growing wild in vacant lots and waste land.
- Matured branches are planted.
- The flowers are blue and bell- shaped.
- The small fruits turn black when ripe.
PREPARATION: For Asthma, cough and fever, boil chopped raw fruits or leaves in 2 glasses of water left for 15 minutes until the
water left in only 1 glass (decoction). Strain. For Dysentery, colds and pain, boil a handful of leaves and flowers in water to
produce a glass full of decoction 3 time a day.
ULASIMANG BATO Scientific Name: Peperomia pellucida
- Silver bush or Shiny bush
- Pansit-pansitan
- A weed with heart- shaped leaves that grow in shady parts of the garden and yard.
USES: Lowers uric acid (Rheumatism and Gout)
PREPARATION: Wash the leaves well. One and a half cup leaves are boiled in two glassfuls of water over low fire. Do not cover
pot. Cool and strain. Divide into three parts and drink each part 3 times a day a day.
BAWANG Scientific Name: Allium sativum
- Garlic
- Low herb and grows up to sixty cms high Leaves are flat and linear Bulbs consist of several tubers
USES: For hypertension Toothache Lowers cholesterol levels in the blood
PREPARATION: May be fried, roasted, soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes, or blanched in boiled water for 5 minutes. Take two
pieces three times a day after meals.
BAYABAS Scientific Name: Psidium guajava
- Guava
- A tree about 4 to 5 meters high with tiny white flowers with round or oval fruits that are eaten raw.
USES: For washing wounds For toothache For diarrhea
PREPARATION: Warm decoction is used for gargle. Freshly pounded leaves are used for toothache. Guava leaves are to be
washed well and chopped. Boil for 15 minutes at low fire. Do not cover pot. Cool and strain before use
YERBA BUENA Scientific Name: Mentha cordifelia
- A small multi- branching aromatic herb.
- The leaves are small, elliptical and with toothed margin. The stem creeps to the ground, and develop roots.
PREPARATION: For pain in diff. parts of the body, boil chopped leaves in 2 glasses of water I for 15 minutes. Cool and strain. For
rheumatism, arthritis and headache, crush the fresh leaves and squeeze sap. Massage sap on with painful parts eucalyptus.
SOME FAMOUS FILIPINO IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE
1. Ramon Cabanos Barba
- outstanding research on tissue culture in Philippine mangoes.
2. Josefino Casas Comiso
- Observed the characteristics of Antartica using satellite images.
3. Jose Bejar Cruz Jr.
- Known internationally in the field of electrical engineering: was elected as officer of the famous institute of electrical and
electronic engineerin
4. Lourdes Jansuy Cruz
- Notable for her research on sea snail venom.
5. Fabian Millar Dayrit
- Herbal medicine research Rafael
6. Dineros Guerrero III
- Tilapia culture
7. Enrique Mapua Ostrea Jr.
- Invented the Meconium drug testing
8. Lilian Formalejo Patena
- Research on Plant Biotechnology
9. Mari-Jo Panganiban Ruiz
- For being outstanding educator and graph theorist
10. Gregory Ligot Tangonan
- research in field of Communication Technology
OUTSTANDING FILIPINO SCIENTISTS WHO ARE RECOGNIZED HERE AND ABROAD
1. Ceasar A. Saloma
- an internationally renowned physicist
2. Edgardo Gomez
- Famous scientist in marine Science
3. William Padolina
- Chemistry and president of National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) -Philippines