page_title: Cultural achievements of pre-colonial Philippines
section_title: Maritime culture and aquaculture
hierarchical_section_title: Cultural achievements of pre-colonial Philippines / Maritime culture and aquaculture
caption_attribution_description: Original caption (cropped out): Native boats and outriggers Description: (cropped out): Boats of the upper type were used to land the U.S. troops at Manila. One of those in which the Astor Battery landed sank in the surf just before reaching shore. The natives carried the men ashore on their shoulders. The lower boat is a fisherman’s craft used by the Negritos, who shoot fish in the clear water with bows and arrows.
context_page_description: The cultural achievements of pre-colonial Philippines include those covered by the prehistory and the early history of the Philippine archipelago's inhabitants, the indigenous forebears of today's Filipino people. Among the cultural achievements of the native people's belief systems, and culture in general, that are notable in many ethnic societies, range from agriculture, societal and environmental concepts, spiritual beliefs, up to advances in technology, science, and the arts.
context_section_description: Indigenous people of the Philippines, being descendants of the balangay-borne Austronesian migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia, were known for their navigational skills. Some of them used compasses similar to those used among maritime communities of Borneo and traders of China, although most had no need for such devices. In modern times, some fishermen and traders in the Visayas, Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan are still able to navigate long distances over open water without the use of modern navigational instruments. Philippine ships, such as the karakao or korkoa were of excellent quality and some of them were used by the Spaniards in expeditions against rebellious tribes and Dutch and British forces. Some of the larger rowed vessels held up to a hundred rowers on each side besides a contingent of armed troops. Generally, the larger vessels held at least one lantaka at the front of the vessel or another one placed at the stern. Philippine sailing ships called praos had double sails that seemed to rise well over a hundred feet from the surface of the water. Despite their large size, these ships had double outriggers. Some of the larger sailing ships, however, did not have outriggers.
  Communities of the ancient Philippines were active in international trade, and they used the ocean as natural highways. Ancient peoples were engaged in long-range trading with their Asian neighbors as far as west as Maldives and as far as north as Japan. Some historians proposed that they also had regular contacts with the people of Western Micronesia due to it being the only area in the Oceania that had rice crops, tuba (fermented coconut sap), and a tradition of betel nut chewing when the first Europeans arrived there. The uncanny resemblance of complex body tattoos among the Visayans and those of Borneo also suggest some connection between Borneo and ancient Philippines. Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, mentioned that merchants and ambassadors from all surrounding areas came to pay tribute to the king of Sugbu (Cebu) for the purpose of trade. While Magellan's crew were with the king, a representative from Siam was paying tribute to the king. Miguel López de Legazpi also wrote how merchants from Luzon and Mindoro had come to Cebu for trade, and he also mentioned how Chinese merchants regularly came to Luzon for the same purpose. People from the region enjoyed extensive trade contacts and immigration with other cultures, such as Indians, Arabs, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thais, Malaysians, and Indonesians.
  Aside from trade relations, indigenous Filipinos were also involved in aquaculture and fishing. The natives made use of the salambao, which is a type of raft that utilizes a large fishing net which is lowered into the water via a type of lever made of two criss-crossed poles. Night fishing was accomplished with the help of candles made from a particular type of resin similar to the copal of Mexico. Use of safe pens for incubation and protection of small fry from predators was also observed, a method that interested the Spaniards at that time.
caption: Native boats and outriggers as depicted in The history and conquest of the Philippines and our other island possessions; embracing our war with the Filipinos[46] by Alden March, published in 1899. Caption (cropped out) read: "Boats of the upper type were used to land the U.S. troops at Manila. One of those in which the Astor Battery landed sank in the surf just before reaching shore. The natives carried the men ashore on their shoulders. The lower boat is a fisherman's craft used by the Negritos, who shoot fish in the clear water with bows and arrows."
exif: {}