MR. REY BELENMR. REY BELEN

Our Early Ancestors

The First Filipinos

Who were the first people to live in the Philippines?

What happened to them?Where are they now?

These questions on the past cannot fully be answered even by the best scientist who study about our early ancestors

The best explanation we have about our distant past comes from the three main sources:The story of God’s creation in the Bible

The theories of evolution made by human scientists

Legends and fairytales made up by imaginative people.

A. The Biblical Story

According to the Holy Bible, all men and According to the Holy Bible, all men and women originated from the first man (Adam) women originated from the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve)and the first woman (Eve)

Historians do not believe in the story of Historians do not believe in the story of creation in the Holy Bible instead, they have creation in the Holy Bible instead, they have invented the theory of “evolution” or the invented the theory of “evolution” or the story how the first man came from apelike story how the first man came from apelike creatures who walked the face of the earth creatures who walked the face of the earth thousands of years ago.thousands of years ago.

C. Scientific Theories

Theory of EvolutionTheory of Evolution It is a belief that man came from apelike creatures It is a belief that man came from apelike creatures

who lived thousands of years ago in caves and have who lived thousands of years ago in caves and have very crude tools.very crude tools.

Waves of Migration TheoryWaves of Migration Theory They believed that early Filipinos came from “waves of They believed that early Filipinos came from “waves of

migration” – Negritos, Indonesians, and Malays – who migration” – Negritos, Indonesians, and Malays – who peopled these island thousands of years ago.peopled these island thousands of years ago.

Scientific Theories

Core Population Theory Believes that the early Filipinos came from the

settlers within the islands, not from outside, and in fact our ancestors migrated outside to the other nearby islands to spread our own culture to the other islands.

Austronesian Migration

Austronesian Migration (Fernando N. Zialcita) The Austronesian Theory of Migration proves to

be one of the most palpable reasons for the interconnection of cultures within Southeast Asia

According to Encarta Reference Library, Austronesian Languages, formerly called Malayo-Polynesian languages, is one of the world's largest language families, both in terms of numbers of languages—more than 700—and geographic spread—covering islands and some mainland areas from Madagascar in the west to Easter Island and Hawaii in the east.

Both groups of evolutionist however believe that the first man in the Philippines lived in Palawan about 25, 000 years ago.

The first Filipino lived in caves at Tabon, Palawan.

Thus, they are called the “Tabon Man”,They belonged to the Stone Age culture.They used stone tools and has no knowledge

about the use of metal.Hunted wild animals with crude stone tools

and make clothes using simple stone tools.

They did not know how to farm or raise animals.

They were short, with bushy eyebrows, and a low forehead.

They lived in a very harsh surroundings and it was a daily battle for survival.

Most of the time was spent looking for food.

Waves of Migration (HOB)Another story of the first Filipinos describes

three waves of migration to these islands“The Philippines was once connected to

Mainland Asia by land bridges which gradually sank in the China sea, as a result of constant leveling work of ocean waves.

“It was through these bridges that the first inhabitants came over to the Philippines.

According to the migration theory, our country was settled by three kinds of people: 1. Negritos 2. Indonesians 3. Malays

1. The Negritos

The first people to come to the Philippines.The first people to come to the Philippines.They were called Atis or AetasThey were called Atis or AetasThey came across land bridges from mainland They came across land bridges from mainland

Asia about 25, 000 years ago.Asia about 25, 000 years ago.The Negritos were very small people and less The Negritos were very small people and less

than five feet tall.than five feet tall.They were called Negritos because they have They were called Negritos because they have

black skin, short kinky hair, thick lips, and black skin, short kinky hair, thick lips, and black noses. black noses.

1. The Negritos

They wandered in the forests and lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants and fruits.

They used bow and arrow for hunting.

2. The Indonesians

They were the first immigrants to come by the sea to the Philippines.

They came about 5, 000 years ago and sailed in boats from South Asia.

They drove the Negritos into the mountainsand lived in the lowlands.

There were two types of Indonesians: 1. tall, with light skin, large forehead, high nose and

thin lips 2. shorter and darker, large nose, thick lips

2. The Indonesians

Indonesians were more advance than the Negritos.

They lived in permanent homes and used fire to cook their food.

They lived by hunting, fishing, and small farming.

They painted their bodies with colorful figures.

2. The IndonesiansToday, the Indonesian minority tribes are

found in some interior parts of our country.They are the:

ApayaosGaddangs IbanagsKalingas Tagbanuas BagobosManobos Mandyas BukidnonTirurays Sabanuns

3. The Malays

The Malays came after the Indonesians, about 2, 000 years ago.

They also arrived in boats from Southeast Asia.

They were medium in height, brown-skinned, with dark eyes, flat noses and straight black hair.

They drove Indonesians to the forests and lived in the lowlands

3. The Malays

The Malay were more civilized than the Indonesians.

They lived in larger villages, had government, writing, music, arts, and sciences.

They lived by agriculture, fishing, mining and trading.

3. The MalaysSome legends describe the coming of the

Malays. Maragtas

It tells how the first ten Malay Datus left Borneo and came to Panay

They bought the land from the Negritos. This legend is now celebrated in the famous “ati-atihan”

fiesta and dance.

The Filipinos today come from the Malay or brown race.

Felipe Landa Jocano(Questions and Challenges in Philippine

Pre-History)

“They stand co-equal as ethnic groups, without anyone being the dominant group, racially or culturally”.

“The differences are due to the differences of their response to their environment”.

“On the other hand, similarities are due to the adjustment to their environment”.

The people of prehistoric island Southeast Asia belonged to same population. It grew out of combination of human evolution and movements of other people.

The core population shared a common cultural orientation and cultural elements.

The configuration of these shared elements into a common way of life is what we call the base culture.

None of these ancient men could be categorized under any of the historically identified ethnic groups. It was the West who fragmented the population into groups.

… the explanation of the peopling of the Philippines through a series of waves of migration as documented by folk history like the Maragtas has to be reconsidered. The undue credit given to the Malays as the original settlers of the region and dominant cultural transmitter must be corrected.

CAGAYAN MAN & TABON MAN

Homo Erectus Philippines (Cagayan Man) 1970, the National Museum

archaeologist started to work in Cagayan Valley through a survey and exploration of all places were fossils and stones appeared.

The initial problem was to determine the age of materials.

After a number of years of study, it was determined that the rock layer named Awidon Mesa formation was formed during the Ice Age.

CAGAYAN MAN & TABON MANHomo Sapiens (Tabon Man)

“It is difficult to come up with the perfect theory, the artifacts can not speak for themselves” (Dr. Eusebio Dizon, National Museum)

Robert Fox (Lecture in National Museum) Why in Palaewan?

Palawan is the perfect corridor thet bridged the Philippines to Borneo.

First men who came to the Philippines inhabited the island eversince Paleolithic era (500,000 years ago.

When the ice melted and land bridges sank, Neolithic era began.

It was the start of the dramatic changes in tools of ancient man and were much superior to the tools of Paleolithic people.

These tools, according to Fox, are commonly in the Pacific were found in cave sites in Palwan.

There are two general theories on where the Neolithic Man who inhabited the Philippines came from…

The Austronesian Migration

Mainland Origin Theory (Peter Bellwood)Mainland Origin Theory (Peter Bellwood) The larger Austronesian migration had its stimulus The larger Austronesian migration had its stimulus

with the beginning of agriculture in Central China with the beginning of agriculture in Central China about 9000 years ago.about 9000 years ago.

They moved to Taiwan either by raft or canoes and as They moved to Taiwan either by raft or canoes and as the movement began and as it spread, they developed the movement began and as it spread, they developed better techniques for acquiring food from the sea and better techniques for acquiring food from the sea and building boats and so they spread further.building boats and so they spread further.

They went to the Philippines moving rapidly by boats. They went to the Philippines moving rapidly by boats. Then Indonesia, Pacific andThen Indonesia, Pacific and Madagascar.

The Austronesian Migration

Island Origin Hypothesis (William Solheim)Island Origin Hypothesis (William Solheim) In 1981, he came up with a theory marked by four (4) In 1981, he came up with a theory marked by four (4)

different periods:different periods: ARCHAIC PERIOD (man began to settle in the island ARCHAIC PERIOD (man began to settle in the island

5, 000 BCE)5, 000 BCE) INCIPIENT FILIPINO PERIOD (when archaic period INCIPIENT FILIPINO PERIOD (when archaic period

ended and stopped in 10,000 BCE) Nusantao – the ended and stopped in 10,000 BCE) Nusantao – the maritime people who travelled from Southern maritime people who travelled from Southern Philippines in the Mindanao Island and Indonesia to Philippines in the Mindanao Island and Indonesia to the north ending in China sea and passing through the north ending in China sea and passing through Taiwan.Taiwan.

FORMATIVE FILIPINO (1, 000 BCE to 500 CE)FORMATIVE FILIPINO (1, 000 BCE to 500 CE) ESTABLISHED FILIPINO (500 CE to 1521)ESTABLISHED FILIPINO (500 CE to 1521) The people in the last phase are traders…The people in the last phase are traders…

Evidences:Evidences: LinguisticLinguistic CulturalCultural GeneticGenetic

C. Legends and Fairy Tales

The Story of Malakas at MagandaThe Story of Malakas at MagandaThe Story of the Brown PeopleThe Story of the Brown People