Prehistory of the Philippines - wikipedia Prehistory of the Philippines This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia 's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can. ( February 2009 ) Prehistoric Philippines Geographical range Southeast Asia Period Neolithic -- Iron Age Dates c. Before 900 AD Major sites Tabon Caves, Angono Petroglyphs, Kalanay Cave, Banaue Rice Terraces Characteristics s Preceded by Austronesian migration Followed by Archaic Epoch The prehistory of the Philippines covers the events prior to the written history of what is now the Philippines. The current demarcation between this period and the Early history of the Philippines is 21 April 900, which is the equivalent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar for the date indicated on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription -- the earliest known surviving written record to come from the Philippines. This period saw the immense change that took hold of the archipelago from Stone Age cultures in the fourth century, continuing on with the gradual widening of trade until 900 and the first surviving written records. Part of a series on the History of the Philippines Prehistory ( pre -- 900 ) Paleolithic age Awidon Mesa Formation Callao Limestone Formation Neolithic age Callao and Tabon peoples Arrival of the Negritos Austronesian expansion Angono Petroglyphs Lal - lo and Gattaran Shell Middens Jade culture Iron age Sa Huyun Culture Society of the Igorot Ancient barangays Events / Artifacts Balangay grave goods Manunggul Jar Prehistoric gems Sa Huyun - Kalanay Complex Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery Archaic epoch ( 900 -- 1565 ) Historically documented city - states / polities ( by geography from North to South ) Samtoy chieftaincy Caboloan Tondo Namayan Rajahnate of Maynila Ma - i Madja - as Chiefdom of Taytay Rajahnate of Cebu Kedatuan of Dapitan Rajahnate of Butuan Sultanate of Maguindanao Lanao confederacy Sultanate of Sulu Legendary Suwarnapumi Chryse Ophir Tawalisi Wāḳwāḳ Sanfotsi Zabag kingdom Ten Bornean Datus Events / Artifacts Maragtas Laguna Copperplate Inscription Butuan Ivory Seal Limestone tombs Batanes citadels Golden Tara Gold Kinnara Ticao Stone Inscription Butuan Silver Paleograph Buddhist art Majapahit conflict Brunei War Colonial period ( 1565 -- 1946 ) Spanish era Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan Battle of Mactan Voyage of Miguel López de Legazpi Spanish capture of Manila New Spain Captaincy General Spanish East Indies Manila galleon Revolts and uprisings Chinese invasion Sulu Sea pirates Dutch invasions British invasion Propaganda Movement Cavite Mutiny La Liga Filipina Katipunan Cry of Pugad Lawin Philippine Revolution Tejeros Convention Republic of Biak - na - Bato Spanish -- American War Battle of Manila Bay American capture of Manila Declaration of Independence Malolos Congress First Republic Philippine -- American War American colonial period Tagalog Republic Negros Republic Zamboanga Republic Moro Rebellion Insular Government Jones Law Tydings -- McDuffie Act Commonwealth Japanese occupation Fall of Bataan and Corregidor Second Republic Battle of Leyte Gulf Liberation of the Philippines Post-colonial period ( 1946 -- 1986 ) Treaty of Manila Third Republic Hukbalahap Rebellion Filipino First policy New Society & Fourth Republic CPP -- NPA -- NDF rebellion Moro Conflict People Power Revolution Contemporary history ( 1986 -- present ) Mount Pinatubo eruption 1997 Asian financial crisis 2000 All - out war against MILF 2001 EDSA Revolution EDSA III Oakwood mutiny Typhoon Yolanda Philippine Drug War By topic Ancient religions Rulers List of Queen consorts Military Political Communications Transportation Filipino Americans Timeline Archaeology Philippines portal Contents 1 Pleistocene 1.1 Site Description 1.2 Hominins 2 Stone Age ( c. 50,000 -- c. 500 BC ) 2.1 Callao Man ( c. 67,000 BC ) 2.2 Tabon Man ( c. 24,000 or 22,000 BC ) 2.3 Migration theories 2.3. 1 Beyer 's wave migration theory ( Theory of Waves of Migration ) 2.3. 2 Objections to the land bridges theory 2.3. 3 Bellwood 's Austronesian diffusion theory ( Austronesian Model ) 2.3. 4 Solheim 's Nusantao Maritime Trading and Communication Network ( NMTCN ) or island origin theory 2.3. 5 Jocano 's local origins theory ( Core Population ) 2.4 Genetic studies 2.4. 1 2001 Stanford University study 2.4. 2 2008 Leeds University study 2.4. 3 Other studies 2.4. 4 Conclusions 2.5 Proto - Austronesians 2.6 Bolobok Archaeological Site ( 6810 - 3190 BC ) 2.7 5000 -- 2000 BC -- Austronesian speakers arrive 3 Timeline of Iron age 4 Early Metal Age ( c. 500 BC -- c. 1 AD ) 5 Proto - historic era 5.1 100 BC onward 5.2 Thalassocracies and international trade ( 200 AD onwards ) 5.2. 1 The emergence of Barangay city - states and trade ( 200 -- 500 ) 5.3 Introduction of metal 5.4 Introduction of iron 6 Archeological sources 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Pleistocene A 2018 study by France 's Museum of Natural History, with Thomas Ingicco as the lead author, pushes back the arrival of the first Homo species on the Philippines between 631,000 and 777,000 years ago in a period known today as Pleistocene. This was on the wake of the analysis conducted using several dating techniques to the rhino remains unearthed in a Kalinga site. Site description Unearthed in the site was a ' nearly complete, disarticulated ' rhinoceros skeleton, of the extinct species ' Rhinoceros philippinensis '. It showed ridges left by tools made while removing flesh, and special tools designed to remove bone marrow. The site yielded more than 400 bones, including several dozen knapped and chipped tools, of which 49 are knife - like flakes with two hammers. Also, among the finds are other skeletal remains, which include brown deer, monitor lizards, freshwater turtles and stegodonts. Hominins While the earliest confirmed evidence of a hominin came from 67,000 years old foot bone from Sierra Madre, the recent finds had no direct trace of the humans who butchered the animals. On the other hand, it is possible that it had already evolved into a distinct species. Stone Age ( C 50,000 -- C 500 BC ) The first evidence of the systematic use of Stone Age technology in the Philippines is estimated to 50,000 BC, and this phase in the development of proto - Philippine societies is considered to end with the rise of metal tools in about 500 BC, albeit with stone tools still used past that date. Filipino anthropologist F. Landa Jocano refers to the earliest noticeable stage in the development of proto - Philippine societies as the Formative Phase. He also identified stone tools and ceramic manufacture as the two core industries that defined the period 's economic activity, and which shaped the means by which early Filipinos adapted to their environment during this period. By about 30,000 BC, the Negritos, who became the ancestors of today 's aboriginal Filipinos ( such as the Aeta ), probably lived in the archipelago. No evidence has survived which would indicate details of ancient Filipino life such as their crops, culture, and architecture. Historian William Henry Scott noted any theory which describes such details for the period must be pure hypothesis, and thus be honestly presented as such. Callao Man ( C 67,000 BC ) Main article : Callao Man The earliest known human remains in the Philippines are the fossilised remains discovered in 2007 in the Callao Caves in Cagayan. The 67,000 - year - old find predates the 47,000 - year - old Tabon Man, which was until then the earliest known set of human remains in the archipelago. The find consisted of a single 61 millimeter metatarsal which, when dated using uranium series ablation, was found to be its current age. If definitively proven to be remains of Homo sapiens, it would also be one of the oldest human remains in the Asia - Pacific. Tabon Man ( C 24,000 or 22,000 BC ) Main article : Tabon Man Fossilized fragments of a skull and jawbone of three individuals had been discovered on May 28, 1962 by Dr. Robert B. Fox, an American anthropologist of the National Museum. These fragments are collectively called `` Tabon Man '' after the place where they were found on the west coast of Palawan. Tabon Cave appears to be a kind of a Stone Age factory, with both finished stone flake tools and waste core flakes having been found at four separate levels in the main chamber. Charcoal left from three assemblages of cooking fires there has been Carbon - 14 dated to roughly 7,000, 20,000, and 22,000 BC. ( In Mindanao, the existence and importance of these prehistoric tools was noted by famed José Rizal himself, because of his acquaintance with Spanish and German scientific archaeologists in the 1880s, while in Europe. ) Tabon Cave is named after the `` Tabon bird '' ( Tabon scrubfowl, Megapodius cumingii ), which deposited thick hard layers of guano during the period when the cave was still uninhabited, resulting to a cement - like floor made of bird dung where three succeeding groups of tool - makers settled. It is indicated that about half of the 3,000 specimens recovered from the cave are discarded cores of a material which had to be transported from some distance. The Tabon man fossils are considered to have come from the third group of inhabitants who inhabited the cave between 22,000 and 20,000 BC. An earlier cave level lies so far below the level containing cooking fire assemblages that it must represent Upper Pleistocene dates from 45 or 50 thousand years ago. Physical anthropologists who have examined the Tabon Man skullcap have agreed that it belonged to a modern man ( Homo sapiens ), as distinguished from the mid-Pleistocene Homo erectus species. This indicates that Tabon Man was Pre-Mongoloid ( Mongoloid being the term anthropologists apply to the racial stock which entered Southeast Asia during the Holocene and absorbed earlier peoples to produce the modern Malay, Indonesian, Filipino, and `` Pacific '' peoples ). Two experts have given the opinion that the mandible is `` Australian '' in physical type, and that the skullcap measurements are most nearly like the Ainus or Tasmanians. Nothing can be concluded about Tabon man 's physical appearance from the recovered skull fragments except that he was not a Negrito. The custom of Jar Burial, which ranges from Sri Lanka, to the Plain of Jars, in Laos, to Japan, also was practiced in the Tabon caves. A spectacular example of a secondary burial jar is owned by the National Museum, a National Treasure, with a jar lid topped with two figures, one the deceased, arms crossed, hands touching the shoulders, the other a steersman, both seated in a proa, with only the mast missing from the piece. Secondary burial was practiced across all the islands of the Philippines during this period, with the bones reburied, some in the burial jars. Seventy - eight earthenware vessels were recovered from the Manunggul cave, Palawan, specifically for burial. Migration theories Main article : Models of migration to the Philippines There have been many models of early human migration to the Philippines. Since H. Otley Beyer first proposed his wave migration theory, numerous scholars have approached the question of how, when and why humans first came to the Philippines. The question of whether the first humans arrived from the south ( Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei as suggested by Beyer ) or from the north ( via Taiwan as suggested by the Austronesian theory ) has been a subject of heated debate for decades. As new discoveries come to light, past hypotheses are reevaluated and new theories constructed. Beyer 's wave migration theory ( theory of waves of migration ) The first, and most widely known theory of the prehistoric peopling of the Philippines is that of H. Otley Beyer, founder of the Anthropology Department of the University of the Philippines. According to Dr. Beyer, the ancestors of the Filipinos came to the islands first via land bridges which would occur during times when the sea level was low, and then later in seagoing vessels such as the balangay. Thus he differentiated these ancestors as arriving in different `` waves of migration '', as follows : `` Dawn Man '', a cave - man type who was similar to Java man, Peking Man, and other Asian homo erectus of 250,000 years ago. The aboriginal pygmy group, the Negritos, who arrived between 25,000 and 30,000 years ago. The seafaring tool - using Indonesian group who arrived about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago and were the first immigrants to reach the Philippines by sea. The seafaring, more civilized Malays who brought the Iron age culture and were the real colonizers and dominant cultural group in the pre-Hispanic Philippines. Beyer 's theory, while still popular among lay Filipinos, has been generally been disputed by anthropologists and historians. Reasons for doubting it are founded on Beyer 's use of 19th century scientific methods of progressive evolution and migratory diffusion as the basis for his hypothesis. These methods have since been proven to be too simple and unreliable to explain the prehistoric peopling of the Philippines. Objections to the land bridges theory In February 1976, Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines, questioned the validity of the theory of land bridges. He maintained that the Philippines was never part of mainland Asia. He claimed that it arose from the bottom of the sea and, as the thin Pacific crust moved below it, continued to rise. It continues to rise today. The country lies along great Earth faults that extend to deep submarine trenches. The resulting violent earthquakes caused what is now the land masses forming the Philippines to rise to the surface of the sea. Dr. Voss also pointed out that when scientific studies were done on the Earth 's crust from 1964 to 1967, it was discovered that the 35 - kilometer - thick crust underneath China does not reach the Philippines. Thus, the latter could not have been a land bridge to the Asian mainland. The matter of who the first settlers were has not been really resolved. This is being disputed by anthropologists, as well as Professor H. Otley Beyer, who claims that the first inhabitants of the Philippines came from the Malay Peninsula. The Malays now constitute the largest portion of the populace and what Filipinos now have is an Austronesian culture. Philippine historian William Henry Scott has pointed out that Palawan and the Calamianes Islands are separated from Borneo by water nowhere deeper than 100 meters, that south of a line drawn between Saigon and Brunei does the depth of the South China Sea nowhere exceeds 100 meters, and that the Strait of Malacca reaches 50 meters only at one point. Scott also asserts that the Sulu Archipelago is not the peak of a submerged mountain range connecting Mindanao and Borneo, but the exposed edge of three small ridges produced by tectonic tilting of the sea bottom in recent geologic times. According to Scott, it is clear that Palawan and the Calamianes do not stand on a submerged land bridge, but were once a hornlike protuberance on the shoulder of a continent whose southern shoreline used to be the present islands of Java and Borneo. Mindoro and the Calamianes are separated by a channel more than 500 meters deep Bellwood 's Austronesian diffusion theory ( Austronesian model ) The principal branches of the Malayo - Polynesian Language Family. Orange is Outer Western Malayo - Polynesian, dark red is Inner Western Malayo - Polynesian, green is Central Malayo - Polynesian, purple is South Halmahera -- West New Guinea languages, and pink is Oceanic. ( Some areas with oceanic languages are not visible on this map. ) The popular contemporary alternative to Beyer 's model is Peter Bellwood 's Out - of - Taiwan ( OOT ) hypothesis, which is based largely on linguistics, hewing very close to Robert Blust 's model of the history of the Austronesian language family, and supplementing it with archeological data. This model suggests that between 4500 BC and 4000 BC, developments in agricultural technology in the Yunnan Plateau in China created pressures which drove certain peoples to migrate to Taiwan. These people either already had or began to develop a unique language of their own, now referred to as Proto - Austronesian. By around 3000 BC, these groups started differentiating into three or four distinct subcultures, and by 2500 to 1500 BC, one of these groups began migrating southwards towards the Philippines and Indonesia, reaching as far as Borneo and the Moluccas by 1500 BC, forming new cultural groupings and developing unique languages. By 1500 BC, some of these groups started migrating west, reaching as far as Madagascar around the 1st millennium. Others migrated east, settling as far as Easter Island by the mid-13th century, giving the Austronesian language group the distinction of being one of the most widely distributed language groups in the world at that time, in terms of the geographical span of the homelands of its languages. According to this theory, the peoples of the Philippines are the descendants of those cultures who remained on the Philippine islands when others moved first southwards, then eastward and westward. Solheim 's Nusantao maritime trading and communication network ( NMTCN ) or island Origin theory Wilhelm Solheim 's concept of the Nusantao Maritime Trading and Communication Network ( NMTCN ), while not strictly a theory regarding the biological ancestors of modern Southeast Asians, does suggest that the patterns of cultural diffusion throughout the Asia - Pacific region are not what would be expected if such cultures were to be explained by simple migration. Where Bellwood based his analysis primarily on linguistic analysis, Solheim 's approach was based on artifact findings. On the basis of a careful analysis of artifacts, he suggests the existence of a trade and communication network that first spread in the Asia - Pacific region during its Neolithic age ( c. 8,000 to 500 BC ). According to Solheim 's NMTCN theory, this trade network, consisting of both Austronesian and non-Austronesian seafaring peoples, was responsible for the spread of cultural patterns throughout the Asia - Pacific region, not the simple migration proposed by the Out - of - Taiwan hypothesis. Solheim 2006 Solheim came up with four geographical divisions delineating the spread of the NMTCN over time, calling these geographical divisions `` lobes. '' Specifically, these were the central, northern, eastern and western lobes. The central lobe was further divided into two smaller lobes reflecting phases of cultural spread : the Early Central Lobe and the Late Central Lobe. Instead of Austronesian peoples originating from Taiwan, Solheim placed the origins of the early NMTCN peoples in the `` Early Central Lobe, '' which was in eastern coastal Vietnam, at around 9000 BC. He then suggests the spread of peoples around 5000 BC towards the `` Late central lobe '', including the Philippines, via island Southeast Asia, rather than from the north as the Taiwan theory suggests. Thus, from the Point of view of the Philippine peoples, the NMTCN is also referred to as the Island Origin Theory. the 2000 year old Banaue Rice Terraces This `` late central lobe '' included southern China and Taiwan, which became `` the area where Austronesian became the original language family and Malayo - Polynesian developed. '' In about 4000 to 3000 BC, these peoples continued spreading east through Northern Luzon to Micronesia to form the Early Eastern Lobe, carrying the Malayo - Polynesian languages with them. These languages would become part of the culture spread by the NMTCN in its expansions Malaysia and western towards Malaysia before 2000 BC, continuing along coastal India and Sri Lanka up to the western coast of Africa and Madagascar ; and over time, further eastward towards its easternmost borders at Easter Island. Thus, as in the case of Bellwood 's theory, the Austronesian languages spread eastward and westward from the area around the Philippines. Aside from the matter of the origination of peoples, the difference between the two theories is that Bellwood 's theory suggests a linear expansion, while Solheim 's suggests something more akin to concentric circles, all overlapping in the geographical area of the late central lobe which includes the Philippines. Jocano 's local origins theory ( core population ) Another alternative model is that asserted by anthropologist F. Landa Jocano of the University of the Philippines, who in 2001 contended that the existing fossil evidence of ancient humans demonstrates that they not only migrated to the Philippines, but also to New Guinea, Borneo, and Australia. In reference to Beyer 's wave model, he points out that there is no definitive way to determine the `` race '' of the human fossils ; the only certain thing is that the discovery of Tabon Man proves that the Philippines was inhabited as early as 21,000 or 22,000 years ago. If this is true, the first inhabitants of the Philippines would not have come from the Malay Peninsula. Instead, Jocano postulates that the present Filipinos are products of the long process of evolution and movement of people. He also adds that this is also true of Indonesians and Malaysians, with none among the three peoples being the dominant carrier of culture. In fact, he suggests that the ancient humans who populated Southeast Asia can not be categorized under any of these three groups. He thus further suggests that it is not correct to consider Filipino culture as being Malayan in orientation. Genetic studies 2001 Stanford University study A Stanford University study conducted during 2001 revealed that Haplogroup O3 - M122 ( labeled as `` Haplogroup L '' in this study ) is the most common Y - chromosome DNA haplogroup found among Filipinos. This particular haplogroup is also predominant among Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese. Another haplogroup, Haplogroup O1a - M119 ( labeled as `` Haplogroup H '' in this study ), is also found among Filipinos. The rates of Haplogroup O1a are highest among the Taiwanese aborigines, and Chamic - speaking people. Genetic data found among a sampling of Filipinos may indicate some relation to the Ami tribe of Taiwan. 2008 Leeds University study A 2008 genetic study showed no evidence of a large - scale Taiwanese migration into the Philippine Islands. A study by Leeds University and published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, showed that mitochondrial DNA lineages have been evolving within Island Southeast Asia ( ISEA ) since modern humans arrived approximately 50,000 years ago. Population dispersals occurred at the same time as sea levels rose, which resulted in migrations from the Philippine Islands into Taiwan within the last 10,000 years. Other studies A 2002 China Medical University study indicated that some Filipinos shared genetic chromosome that is found among Asian people, such as Taiwanese aborigines, Indonesians, Thais, and Chinese. A variety of research study by the University of the Philippines, genetic chromosome were found in Filipinos which are shared by people from different parts of East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The predominant genotype detected was SC, the Southeast Asian genotype. However, only about 50 urine samples were collected for the study, far below the minimum sample size needed to account for credible test results. Conclusions These indigenous elements in the Filipino 's genetic makeup serve as clues to the patterns of migration throughout Philippine prehistory. After the 16th century, of course, the colonial period saw the influx of genetic influence from Europeans. During the above - mentioned study conducted by Stanford University Asia - Pacific Research Center, it was stated that 3.6 % of the Philippine population has varying degrees of European ancestry from Spanish, and American colonization. However, only 28 individuals from the Philippines were genotyped for this study, again a sample size far below the minimum sample size needed to account for credible test results in a population of over 90 million individuals. However, the Stanford study is conflicted by the findings of the open - source Y - DNA bank of the company, Applied Biosystems, which found out that most Philippine Y - DNA haplogroups were found to be O3 and O2, which comes from East Asia, Southeast Asia and Polynesia but also concluded that those that carry the percentage of Spanish Y - DNA haplogroups, were higher at around 13.33 % of the population ( haplogroup R1b ). Compared to the 28 individuals used by Stanford which they sampled from the rural areas of isolated Palawan island, the Y - DNA bank had analyzed 105 Filipino individuals from all across the country. A much bigger study by National Geographic on around 40,000 Filipinos found out only 2 - 3 % of the ancestry was R1b found in Europe, Middle East and India, 2 - 3 % was South Asian and the rest mostly Austronesian. Proto - Austronesians the world in 1000 BCE shows the societies in the Philippine islands and its neighbors at the time. Before the expansion out of Taiwan, recent archaeological, linguistic and genetic evidence has linked Austronesian speakers in Insular Southeast Asia to cultures such as the Hemudu, Liangzhu and Dapenkeng in Neolithic China. Bolobok archaeological site ( 6810 - 3190 BC ) The site is one of the earliest human settlement zones in the region. The site itself is part of a huge karst system with layers of shells and other minerals made by early humans. More excavation led to discovery of ancient artifacts like flake tools, polished stones, earthenware shards, bone tools and some animal remains. These remains and artifacts were dated by C - 14 to be around 8,810 to 5,190 years ago, making the site one of the most significant archaeological sites in the region. The site was declared an Important Cultural Property in 2017 by the National Government. 5000 -- 2000 BC -- Austronesian speakers arrive Deer hunting Natives. Historian William Henry Scott has observed that, based on lexicostatistical analysis involving seven million word pairs linguist Isidore Dyen offered in 1962, two alternative scenarios explaining the origin and spread of Austronesian languages : ( a ) that they originated in some Pacific island and spread westward to Asia, or ( b ) that they originated in Taiwan and spread southward. Based on subsequent study of the second alternative, Scott concludes that the Philippine language tree could have been introduced by Austronesian speakers as long ago as 5000 BC, probably from the north, with their descendants expanding throughout the Philippine archipelago and beyond in succeeding millennia, absorbing or replacing sparse populations already present, and their language diversifying into dozens of mutually unintelligible languages which replaced earlier ones. During those millennia, other Austronesian speakers entered the Philippines in large enough numbers to leave a linguistic mark but not to replace established languages. Scott suggested that if this scenario is correct all present Philippine languages ( except for Sama -- Bajaw languages, which probably have more speakers outside the Philippines than within ) were produced within the archipelago, none of them being introduced by separate migration, and all of them having more in common with each other than with languages outside of the Philippines. During this neolithic period, a `` jade culture '' is said to have existed as evidenced by tens of thousands of exquisitely crafted jade artifacts found at a site in Batangas province. Timeline of Iron age Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Prehistoric ( or Proto - historic ) Iron Age Historic Iron Age Early metal Age ( C 500 BC -- C 1 AD ) Although there is some evidence early Austronesian migrants having bronze or brass tools, the earliest metal tools in the Philippines are generally said to have first been used somewhere around 500 BC, and this new technology coincided with considerable changes in the lifestyle of early Filipinos. The new tools brought about a more stable way of life, and created more opportunities for communities to grow, both in terms of size and cultural development. Where communities once consisted of small bands of kinsmen living in campsites, larger villages came about - usually based near water, which made traveling and trading easier. The resulting ease of contact between communities meant that they began to share similar cultural traits, something which had not previously been possible when the communities consisted only of small kinship groups. Jocano refers to the period between 500 BC and 1 AD as the incipient phase, which for the first time in the artifact record, sees the presence of artifacts that are similar in design from site to site throughout the archipelago. Along with the use of metal tools, this era also saw significant improvement in pottery technology. Proto - historic era 100 BC onward Iron age finds in Philippines also point to the existence of trade between Tamil Nadu and the Philippine Islands during the ninth and tenth centuries B.C. The Philippines is believed by some historians to be the island of Chryse, the `` Golden One, '' which is the name given by ancient Greek writers in reference to an island rich in gold east of India. Pomponius Mela, Marinos of Tyre and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentioned this island in 100 BC, and it is basically the equivalent to the Indian Suvarnadvipa, the `` Island of Gold. '' Josephus calls it in Latin Aurea, and equates the island with biblical Ophir, from where the ships of Tyre and Solomon brought back gold and other trade items. Ptolemy locates the islands of Chryse east of the Khruses Kersonenson, the `` Golden Peninsula, '' i.e. the Malaya Peninsula. North of Chryse in the Periplus was Thin, which some consider the first European reference to China. In about the 200 BC, there arose a practice of using gold eye covers, and then, gold facial orifice covers to adorn the dead resulting in an increase of ancient gold finds. During the Qin dynasty and the Tang dynasty, China was well aware of the golden lands far to the south. The Buddhist pilgrim I - Tsing mentions Chin - Chou, `` Isle of Gold '' in the archipelago south of China on his way back from India. Medieval Muslims refer to the islands as the Kingdoms of Zabag and Wāḳwāḳ, rich in gold, referring, perhaps, to the eastern islands of the Malay archipelago, the location of present - day Philippines and Eastern Indonesia. Thalassocracies and international trade ( 200 AD onwards ) Further information : Ancient Philippine civilization The emergence of barangay city - states and trade ( 200 -- 500 ) Further information : Ancient barangay Since at least the 3rd century, the indigenous peoples were in contact with other Southeast Asian and East Asian nations. Fragmented ethnic groups established numerous city - states formed by the assimilation of several small political units known as barangay each headed by a Datu or headman ( still in use among non-Hispanic Filipino ethnic groups ) and answerable to a king, titled Rajah. The English of Datu is rich. Even scattered barangays, through the development of inter-island and international trade, became more culturally homogeneous by the 4th century. Hindu - Buddhist culture and religion flourished among the noblemen in this era. Many of the barangay were, to varying extents, under the de jure jurisprudence of one of several neighboring empires, among them the Malay Sri Vijaya, Javanese Majapahit, Brunei, Melaka empires, although de facto had established their own independent system of rule. Trading links with Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand, Java, China, India, Arabia, Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom flourished during this era. A thalassocracy had thus emerged based on international trade. Each barangay consisted of about 100 families. Some barangays were big, such as Zubu ( Cebu ), Butuan, Maktan ( Mactan ), Mandani ( Mandaue ), Lalan ( Liloan ), Irong - Irong ( Iloilo ), Bigan ( Vigan ), and Selurong ( Manila ). Each of these big barangays had a population of more than 2,000. In the earliest times, the items which were prized by the peoples included jars, which were a symbol of wealth throughout South Asia, and later metal, salt and tobacco. In exchange, the peoples would trade feathers, rhino horn, hornbill beaks, beeswax, birds nests, resin, rattan. In the period between the 7th century to the beginning of the 15th century, numerous prosperous centers of trade had emerged, including the Kingdom of Namayan which flourished alongside Manila Bay, Cebu, Iloilo, Butuan, the Kingdom of Sanfotsi situated in Pangasinan, the Kingdoms of Zabag and Wak - Wak situated in Pampanga and Aparri ( which specialized in trade with Japan and the Kingdom of Ryukyu in Okinawa ). Introduction of metal The introduction of metal into the Philippines and the resulting changes did not follow the typical pattern. Robert Fox notes, `` There is, for example, no real evidence of a `` Bronze Age '' or `` Copper - Bronze Age '' in the archipelago, a development which occurred in many areas of the world. The transition, as shown by recent excavation, was from stone tools to iron tools. '' The earliest use of metal in the Philippines was the use of copper for ornamentation, not tools. Even when copper and bronze tools became common, they were often used side by side with stone tools. Metal only became the dominant material for tools late in this era, leading to a new phase in cultural development. Bronze tools from the Philippines ' early metal age have been encountered in various sites, but they were not widespread. This has been attributed to the lack of a local source of tin, which when combined with copper produces bronze. This lack has led most anthropologists to conclude that bronze items were imported and that those bronze smelting sites which have been found in the Philippines, in Palawan, were for re-smelting and remolding. Introduction of iron Iron age finds in Philippines also point to the existence of trade between Tamil Nadu and the Philippine Islands during the ninth and tenth centuries B.C. When iron was introduced to the Philippines, it became the preferred material for tools and largely ended the use of stone tools. Whether the iron was imported or mined locally is still debated by scholars. Beyer thought that it was mined locally, but others point to the lack of iron smelting artifacts and conclude that the iron tools were probably imported. Metalsmiths from this era had already developed a crude version of modern metallurgical processes, notably the hardening of soft iron through carburization. Archeological sources This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2011 ) Until very recently, scholars have limited sources or access to artifacts discovered since the 19th century. During the Spanish colonial era, which began in 1521, many artifacts were destroyed or re-used. A good example is the Spanish walled city of Intramuros in Manila, whose stone bricks were taken from the original city wall of pre-Hispanic Maynila. As new evidence is discovered, old theories are adapted or new ones developed, which has led to numerous and sometimes conflicting theories about the prehistory of the Philippines, leading to a lack of consensus among archaeologists and historians. See also Cultural achievements of pre-colonial Philippines Stegodon Barangay ( pre-colonial ) Prehistoric Asia Prehistory of Marinduque Prehistory of Pampanga Prehistory of Sarangani Dambana Suyat History of the Philippines History of the Philippines ( before 1521 ) History of the Philippines ( Pre-Colonial Era 900 -- 1521 ) History of the Philippines ( Spanish Era 1521 -- 1898 ) History of the Philippines ( American Era 1898 -- 1946 ) History of the Philippines ( Third Republic 1946 -- 65 ) History of the Philippines ( Marcos Era 1965 -- 86 ) History of the Philippines ( Contemporary Era 1986 -- present ) Notes ^ Jump up to : Inquirer, Philippine Daily ( May 4, 2018 ). `` Earliest humans arrived in PH 700,000 years ago '' ( Vol. 33, No. 145 ). France 's National Museum of History. Retrieved 4 May 2018. Jump up ^ Thomas Ingicco ( May 4, 2018 ). `` Ancient humans settled the Philippines 700,000 years ago ''. natureecoevocommunity.nature.com. ^ Jump up to : Jocano 2001, p. 108 Jump up ^ Jocano 2001, p. 120 Jump up ^ Jocano 2001, p. 107 Jump up ^ Scott 1984, p. 138 Jump up ^ Valmero, Anna ( August 5, 2010 ). `` Callao man could be ' oldest ' human in Asia Pacific, says Filipino archaeologist ''. Yahoo ! Southeast Asia, loqal.ph. Retrieved August 5, 2010. Jump up ^ Severino, Howie G. ( August 1, 2010 ). Researchers discover fossil of human older than Tabon Man. GMA News. Retrieved October 21, 2010. ( archived from the original Archived August 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. on 2010 - 08 - 04 ) Jump up ^ Morella, Cecil. ( August 3, 2010 ). ' Callao Man ' Could Redraw Filipino History. Agence France - Presse. Retrieved October 21, 2010 from Discovery News. Jump up ^ `` Archaeologists unearth 67,000 - year - old human bone in Philippines ''. The Daily Telegraph. Jump up ^ Scott 1984, p. 14 ; Zaide 1999, p. 35, citing Jocano 1975, p. 64. ^ Jump up to : Scott 1984, pp. 14 -- 15. Jump up ^ Scott 1984, p. 15 Jump up ^ Zaide 1999, p. 32, citing Beyer Memorial Issue on the Prehistory of the Philippines in Philippine Studies, Vol. 15 : No. 1 ( January 1967 ). Jump up ^ Zaide 1999, pp. 32 -- 34. Jump up ^ Zaide 1999, pp. 34 -- 35. Jump up ^ Bautista, Veltisezar B. ( 2002 ). The Filipino Americans ( 1763 - Present ) : Their History, Culture and Traditions. Bookhaus Pub. p. 15. ISBN 978 - 0 - 931613 - 17 - 3. Jump up ^ Scott 1984, p. 1. Jump up ^ Scott 1984, pp. 1 and Map 2 in Frontispiece. Jump up ^ Flessen, Catherine T. ( November 14, 2006 ). Bellwood and Solheim : Models of Neolithic movements of people in Southeast Asia and the Pacific ( Paper ) ( PDF ). Trondheim, Sør - Trøndelag, Norway : Norwegian University of Science and Technology ( NTNU ). Retrieved February 5, 2009. citing Bellwood 1997 Jump up ^ Jocano 2001, pp. 34 -- 56 ^ Jump up to : Capelli, Cristian ; James F. Wilson, Martin Richards, Michael P.H. Stumpf, Fiona Gratrix, Stephen Oppenheimer, Peter Underhill, Vincenzo L. Pascali, Tsang - Ming Ko, David B. Goldstein1 ( 2001 ), `` A Predominantly Indigenous Paternal Heritage for the Austronesian - Speaking Peoples of Insular Southeast Asia and Oceania '' ( PDF ), American Journal of Human Genetics, 68 ( 2 ) : 432 -- 443, doi : 10.1086 / 318205, PMC 1235276, PMID 11170891, archived from the original ( pdf ) on 2003 - 04 - 21, retrieved June 24, 2007. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Martin Richards. `` Climate Change and Postglacial Human Dispersals in Southeast Asia ''. Oxford Journals. Retrieved April 10, 2014. Jump up ^ Chang JG, Ko YC, Lee JC, Chang SJ, Liu TC, Shih MC, Peng CT ( 2002 ). `` Molecular analysis of mutations and polymorphisms of the Lewis secretor type alpha ( 1, 2 ) - fucosyltransferase gene reveals that Taiwanese aborigines are of Austronesian derivation ''. J. Hum. Genet. 47 : 60 -- 5. doi : 10.1007 / s100380200001. PMID 11916003. Jump up ^ Miranda JJ, Sugimoto C, Paraguison R, Takasaka T, Zheng HY, Yogo Y. `` Genetic diversity of JC virus in the modern Filipino population : implications for the peopling of the Philippines ''. Journal of Human Genetics. 120 : 125 -- 32. doi : 10.1002 / ajpa. 10155. PMID 12541330. Jump up ^ `` How to determine population and survey sample size ? ''. checkmarket.com. Jump up ^ With a sample population of 105 Filipinos, the company of Applied Biosystems, analyses the Y - DNA of the average Filipino. Jump up ^ Bellwood, Peter ( 2014 ). The Global Prehistory of Human Migration. p. 213. Jump up ^ Goodenough, Ward Hunt ( 1996 ). Prehistoric Settlement of the Pacific, Volume 86, Part 5. American Philosophical Society. p. 52. Jump up ^ `` Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum ''. Archived from the original on 2009 - 01 - 07. Jump up ^ Manansala, Paul Kekai. Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan. p. 22. Jump up ^ Sagart, Laurent. `` The expansion of Setaria farmers in East Asia ''. Jump up ^ Li, H ; Huang, Y ; Mustavich, LF ; et al. ( November 2007 ). `` Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River ''. Hum. Genet. 122 : 383 -- 8. doi : 10.1007 / s00439 - 007 - 0407 - 2. PMID 17657509. CS1 maint : Explicit use of et al. ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Early Austronesians : Into and Out Of Taiwan ''. Jump up ^ http://www.traveling-up.com/travel-guide-tawi-tawi/ Jump up ^ Scott 1984, pp. 37 -- 38. Jump up ^ Scott, William ( 1984 ). Prehispanic Source Material. p. 17. Jump up ^ Bellwood, Peter ( 2011 ). Pathos of Origin. pp. 31 -- 41. Jump up ^ Manansala, Paul. Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan. p. 324. Jump up ^ Thiel, Barbara. `` Excavations at Musang Cave, Northeast Luzon, Philippines '' ( PDF ). ^ Jump up to : Jocano 2001, p. 119 ^ Jump up to : `` Tamil Cultural Association -- Tamil Language ''. tamilculturewaterloo.org. Archived from the original on 2008 - 01 - 02. Jump up ^ Zabag. Retrieved September 02, 2008. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) ( archived from the original on 2010 - 08 - 01 ) Jump up ^ `` About Pasay -- History : Kingdom of Namayan ''. pasay city government website. City Government of Pasay. Archived from the original on 2008 - 01 - 20. Retrieved February 5, 2008. ^ Huerta, Felix, de ( 1865 ), Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historico - Religioso de la Santa y Apostolica Provincia de San Gregorio Magno, Binondo : Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Compañia. Jump up ^ Remains of ancient barangays in many parts of Iloilo testify to the antiquity and richness of these pre-colonial settlements. Pre-hispanic burial grounds are found in many towns of Iloilo. These burial grounds contained antique porcelain burial jars and coffins made of hard wood, where the dead were put to rest with abundance of gold, crystal beads, Chinese potteries, and golden masks. These Philippine national treasures are sheltered in Museo de Iloilo and in the collections of many Ilonngo old families. Early Spanish colonizers took note of the ancient civilizations in Iloilo and their organized social structure ruled by nobilities. In the late 16th Century, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin in his chronicles about the ancient settlements in Panay says : `` También fundó convento el Padre Fray Martin de Rada en Araut - que ahora se llama el convento de Dumangas - con la advocación de nuestro Padre San Agustín... Está fundado este pueblo casi a los fines del río de Halaur, que naciendo en unos altos montes en el centro de esta isla ( Panay )... Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente era el emporio y corte de la más lucida nobleza de toda aquella isla. '' Gaspar de San Agustin, O.S.A., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas ( 1565 -- 1615 ), Manuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas : Madrid 1975, pp. 374 -- 375. Jump up ^ The Medieval Geography of Sanfotsi and Zabag Jump up ^ Fox 1977, p. 63 Jump up ^ Jocano 2001, p. 121 Jump up ^ Dizon 1983, p. 28 References Bellwood, Peter ( 1997 ), Prehistory of the Indo - Malaysian Archipelago ( revised edition ), Honolulu, Hawaii : University of Hawai'i Press. Dizon, Eusebio ( 1983 ), The Metal Age in the Philippines : An Archeometallurgical Investigation, Manila : National Museum of the Filipino People. Fox, Robert Bradford ( March 1968 ), `` Archaeology and the Philippines '', Esso Gilangan. Jocano, F. Landa ( 2001 ), Filipino Prehistory : Rediscovering Precolonial Heritage, Quezon City : Punlad Research House, Inc., ISBN 971 - 622 - 006 - 5. Scott, William Henry ( 1984 ), Prehispanic Source Materials for the study of Philippine History, New Day Publishers, ISBN 971 - 10 - 0226 - 4, retrieved August 5, 2008. Solheim, Wilhelm G., II ( 2006 ), Archaeology and Culture in Southeast Asia : Unraveling the Nusantao, Diliman, Quezon City : University of the Philippines Press, p. 316, ISBN 971 - 542 - 508 - 9. Zaide, Sonia M. ( 1999 ), The Philippines : A Unique Nation ( Second ed. ), All - Nations Publishing, ISBN 971 - 642 - 071 - 4 Further reading Jocano, F. Landa ( 1975 ), Philippine Prehistory : An Anthropological Overview of the Beginnings of Filipino Society and Culture, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, University of the Philippines System Regalado, Felix B ; Franco, Quintin B. ( 1973 ), Grimo, Eliza B., ed., History of Panay, Central Philippine University Scott, William Henry ( 1994 ), Barangay : Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City : Ateneo de Manila University Press, ISBN 971 - 550 - 135 - 4. Scott, William Henry ( 1992 ), Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino, Quezon City : New Day Publishers, ISBN 971 - 10 - 0524 - 7. External links The Timeline of the History of the Philippines ( archived from the original on 2005 - 10 - 30 ) Philippines articles History Timeline Prehistory ( Pre-900 ) Archaic Era ( 900 -- 1521 ) Colonial era ( 1521 -- 1946 ) Spanish period ( 1521 -- 1898 ) American period ( 1898 -- 1946 ) Postcolonial era ( 1946 -- 1986 ) Third Republic ( 1946 -- 65 ) Marcos dictatorship ( 1965 -- 86 ) Contemporary history ( 1986 -- present ) By topic Archaeology Demographic Discoveries Economic history Inventions Military Geography Bays Biosphere reserves Climate Earthquakes Ecoregions Environmental issues Extreme points Island groups islands Lakes Landmarks Mountains National parks Protected areas Ramsar sites Rivers Volcanoes Wildlife World Heritage Sites Politics Government Executive President Executive Office Cabinet Legislature Congress Senate Senate President President pro tem House of Representatives Speaker Judiciary Supreme Court Judiciary Court of Appeals Constitutional Commissions Audit Civil Service Elections Law Constitution Philippine legal codes Human rights Intelligence National Bureau of Investigation National Counter-Terrorism Action Group National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Uniformed Armed Forces of the Philippines Philippine Air Force Philippine Army Philippine Navy Philippine Marine Corps Philippine Coast Guard Philippine National Police Administrative divisions Elections Foreign relations Political parties Economy Agriculture Business process outsourcing Central Bank Energy Fiscal policy National debt Labor Peso Stock Exchange Taxation Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Science and technology Water and Sanitation Society Corruption Crime Demographics Education Ethnic groups Health Income inequality Languages Poverty Provinces by HDI Refugees Religion Women Culture Anito Architecture Art Babaylan Cinema Cuisine Cultural Properties Dance Fashion and clothing Festivals Historical Markers Literature Media Music Mythology Public holidays Psychology Sexuality Sports Traditional games Value system Symbols Anthem Coat of arms Arnis Flag Name Narra Philippine eagle Sampaguita Book Philippines portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prehistory_of_the_Philippines&oldid=855048187 '' Categories : Prehistory of the Philippines History of the Philippines by period Hidden categories : Pages using Timeline Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from March 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list CS1 maint : Explicit use of et al. 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Question: what is the land bridges theory in the philippines
Answer: the ancestors of the Filipinos came to the islands first via land bridges which would occur during times when the sea level was low