Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Accessing Past Cosmologies through Material Culture and the Landscape in the Philippines

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Archaeology of Spiritualities

Part of the book series: One World Archaeology ((WORLDARCH))

Abstract

This chapter presents an argument on how we can access past cosmologies through an appreciation of archaeological context. The possibility of tracking down continuities that link past cultures to contemporary ones will be presented. The chapter will define, for example, what makes specific caves relevant to the spirituality/cosmology of a people, and also argue that it is possible to understand and track down the continuity of cosmological components. This may be done through the study of material-culture left behind by people from past cultures, and by studying people from living cultures in a common landscape. Supporting data come mostly from the archaeology of Palawan Island, Philippines, where the author has done a decade of research. Information from the archaeology of Island Southeast Asia will also be drawn into the discussion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alberti, B., & Bray, T. L. (2009). Special section: Animating archaeology of subjects, objects and alternative ontologies. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 19, 337–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASP. (2006). 2005–2006 Report on the archaeological investigation of Dewil Valley, New Ibajay, El Nido, Palawan. Quezon City, Philippines: ASP Library, Archaeological Studies Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, G. (1995). An introduction to Buddhist archaeology. World Archaeology, 27, 165–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barretto-Tesoro, G. (2008). Identity and reciprocity in 15th century Philippines (BAR inter­national series 1813). Oxford, UK: John and Erica Hedges.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood, P. (1991). The Austronesian dispersal and the origin of languages. Scientific American, 256, 70–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood, P. (2005). The first farmers. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood, P., & Dizon, E. Z. (2005). The Batanes archaeological project and the ‘out of Taiwan’ hypothesis for Austronesian dispersal. Journal of East Asiatic Studies, 1, 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood, P. (1997). Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian archipelago, revised edition. Honolulu: University of Hawaii.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beyer, O. H., & De Veyra, J. C. (1947). Philippine Saga: A pictorial history of the Philippines since time began. The Evening News, Suppl. 1–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binford, L. R. (1989). The ‘new archaeology’, then and now. In C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky (Ed.), Archaeological thought in America (pp. 50–62). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, S. (2005). Consciousness: A very short introduction (Very short introduction series). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blust, R. (1976). Austronesian homeland: A linguistic perspective. Asian Perspectives, 26, 107–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blust, R. (1995). The prehistory of the Austronesian-speaking peoples: A view from language. Journal of World Prehistory, 9, 453–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burkill, I. H. (1966). A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula (Vol. 1–2). Singapore: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlos, A. J. B. (2010). Inferring subsistence patterns in the Ille site: The macrobotanical evidence. MS Thesis, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childe, V. G. (1956). Man makes himself: an authoritative history of the rise of civilization and of the means by which man has achieved mastery of his environment, 3rd edition. London: Watts & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, F.-C. (1922). The Tinguian: Social, religious, and economic life of a Philippine tribe. Chicago, IL: Field Museum of Natural History.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, F.-C. (1956). The Bukidnon of Mindanao (Fieldiana anthropology, Vol. 46). Chicago, IL: Chicago Natural History Museum Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • David, B., Crouch, J., & Zoppi, U. (2005). Historicizing the spiritual: Bu shell arrangements on the island of Badu, Torres Strait. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 15, 71–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dizon, E. (1998). Vessels to the afterlife. In G. Casal, E. Z. Dizon, W. Ronquillo, & C. Salcedo (Eds.), Kasaysayan: The story of the Filipino people (Vol. 2, pp. 93–112). Hong Kong: Asia Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dizon, E., & Santiago, R. (1996). Faces from Maitum: The archaeological excavation of Ayub cave. Manila, Philippines: National Museum of the Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. (1947). The division of labor in society. New York, NY: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edinger, E. F. (1984). The creation of consciousness: Jung’s myth for modern man. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eusebio, M. (2006). Notes on the earthenware jarlet from the West Mouth. Test Pit, 8, 28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernando-Amilbangsa, L. (2005). Ukkil: Visual arts of the Sulu Archipelago. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foronda, J. (2010). Geologic setting of the limestone towers in Dewil Valley, New Ibajay. In Paz, V., W. Ronquillo, H. Lewis, P. Lape, E. Robles, V. Hernandez, N. Emano, M. Ceron, Cuerdo Deo, and W. Solheim (Eds.), Palawan Island palaeohistoric research project: Report on the 2010 field season. Unpublished report, Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, R. B. (1970). The Tabon caves: Archaeological explorations and excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines (Monograph of the National Museum, Vol. 1). Manila, Philippines: National Museum of the Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, R. (1982). Tagbanwa religion and society. Manila, Philippines: National Museum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, C. (1954). Archaeological theory and method: Some suggestions from the Old World. American Anthropologist, 56, 155–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headland, T. N., Pike, K. L., & Harris, M. (Eds.). (1990). Emics and etics: The insider/outsider debate (Frontiers of anthropology, Vol. 7). London, UK: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heng, L. S. (1998). Belief systems in prehistoric times. In N. Hassan & N. A. Rahman (Eds.), The encyclopedia of Malaysia: Early history (Vol. 4, pp. 52–61). Singapore: Archipelago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higham, C., & Bannanurag, R. (1990). The excavation of Khok Phanom Di (Vol. 1). London, UK: The Society of Antiquaries of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung, H.-C., Iizuka, Y., & Bellwood, P. (2006). Taiwan jade in the context of Southeast Asian archaeology. In E. Bacus, I. Glover, & V. Pigott (Eds.), Uncovering Southeast Asia’s past: Selected papers from the 10th international conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (pp. 203–215). Singapore: NUS Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iizuka, Y., & Hung, H. C. (2005). Archaeomineralogy of Taiwan nephrite: Sourching study of nephritic artifact from the Philippines. Journal of Austronesian Studies, 1, 35–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1983). The structure of the psyche: Collected works, Vol. 8, pars. 317–321. In A. Storr (Ed.), The essential Jung (pp. 66–68). New York, NY: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lara, M. G. C. (2010). A critique of the current explanation of human-induced modifications in human skeletal remains. Masters Thesis, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, H. A., Paz, V., Kress, J., Lara, M. G., Medrana, J. G. L., Carlos, A. J., et al. (2006). Early occupation at Ille Cave, New Ibajay, El Nido, Palawan, Philippines: Report on the 2005 excavation season. Unpublished report, British Academy, NERC/Orads & National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, H., Paz, V., Lara, M., Barton, H., Piper, P., Ochoa, J., et al. (2008). Terminal Pleistocene to mid-Holocene occupation and an early cremation burial at Ille cave, Philippines. Antiquity, 82, 318–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loofs-Wissowa, H. (1982). Prehistoric and protohistoric links between the Indochinese Peninsula and the Philippines, as exemplified by two types of ear-ornaments. Journal of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society, 9, 57–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maramba, R. (1998). Form and splendor: Personal adornment of the Northern Luzon ethnic groups, Philippines. Makati, Philippines: Bookmark.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNiven, I. J., & Wright, D. (2008). Ritualised marine midden formation in Western Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait). In G. Clark, F. Leach, & S. O’Connor (Eds.), Islands of inquiry: Colonisation, seafaring, and the archaeology of maritime landscapes (pp. 133–145). Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merill, E. D. (1912). A flora of Manila. Manila: Bureau of Printing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pawley, A., & Ross, M. (1995). The prehistory of the oceanic languages: A current view. In P. Bellwood, J. Fox, & D. Tryon (Eds.), The Austronesians: Historical and comparative ­perspectives (pp. 39–74). Canberra, Australia: Department of Anthropology, ANU.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pawlik, A. (2007). Analysis of two polished stone adzes from Ille Cave at El Nido, Palawan Island, Philippines. Hukay, 10, 38–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paz, V. (1998). Participant report, archaeological survey of El Nido, Palawan (with ethnographic notes). Unpublished report, Archaeological Studies Program Library, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paz, V., Ronquillo, W., Lewis, H., Carlos, A. J. B., Hernandez, V., Robles, E., et al. (2009). Palawan Island palaeohistoric research project: Report on the 2009 El Nido field season. Unpublished report, Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paz, V., Ronquillo, W., Lewis, H., Lape, P., Robles, E., Hernandez, V., Emano, N., Ceron, M., Cuerdo Deo, and Solheim, W. (2010). Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project, Report on the 2010 Field Season. Archaeological Studies Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paz, V., & Vitales, T. (2008). Isang Pagtingin sa ilang mga Artefak ng Burial 727 sa Ille. Test Pit, 13, 30–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peatfield, A. (1992). Rural ritual in Bronze Age Crete: The peak sanctuary at Atsipadhes. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2, 59–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peatfield, A. (2002). Divinity and performance on Minoan peak sanctuaries. In R. Laffineur & R. Hägg (Eds.), Potnia: Deities and religion in the Aegean Bronze Age (Aegaeum 22, pp. 51–55). Liège, Belgium: Université de Liège.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plasencia, J. d. (1589). “Customs of the Tagalogs,” in The Philippines Islands, 1493–1898, vol. 7. Edited by E. H. Blair and J. A. Robertson, pp. 173–196. Mandaluyong: Cacho Hermanos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porr, M. (2010). Palaeolithic art as cultural memory: A case study of the Aurignacian art of Southwest Germany. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 20, 87–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinecke, A. (1996). Ohrringe mit tierkopfenden in Sudostasien [Bi-cephalous earrings in Southeast Asia]. Beitrage Zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archaeologie, 16, 5–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renfrew, C. (1985). The archaeology of cult: The sanctuary at Phylakopi (BSA supplementary, Vol. 18). London: Thames & Hudson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roces, A. R. (1977). Tagbanwa sculpture. In A. Roces (Ed.), Filipino heritage: The making of a nation (Vol. 2, pp. 520–522). Manila, Philippines: Lahing Pilipino Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salazar, Z. (2004). Liktáo at Epiko: Ang Takip ng Tapayang Libingan ng Libmanan, Camarines Sur. Quezon City, Philippines: Bagong Kasaysayan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W. H. (1994). Barangay: Sixteenth century Philippine culture and society. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sillar, B. (2009). The social agency of things? Animism and materiality in the Andes. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 19, 367–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solheim, W. G. I. (1969). H. Otley Beyer. Asian Perspectives, 12, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solheim, W. G. I. (2006). Archaeology and culture in Southeast Asia: Unravelling the Nusantao. Quezon City, Philippines: University of the Philippines Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solheim, W. G., II. (2004). Excavations of Ille Rock Shelter, Palawan, Philippines: Preliminary report. Unpublished report, Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spriggs, M. (1989). The dating of the island Southeast Asian Neolithic: An attempt at chronometric hygiene and linguistic correlation. Antiquity, 63, 587–613.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spriggs, M. (2003). Chronology of the Neolithic transition in island Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. The Review of Archaeology, 24, 57–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szabó, K., Piper, P., & Barker, G. (2008). Sailing between worlds: The symbolism of death in Northwest Borneo. In G. Clark, F. Leach, & S. O’Connor (Eds.), Islands of inquiry: Colonisation, seafaring, and the archaeology of maritime landscapes (Terra Australis, Vol. 29, pp. 149–170). Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsintjilonis, D. (2004). The flow of life in Buntao: Southeast Asian animism reconsidered. Bijdragen tot de Taal, Land - en Volkenkunde, 160, 425–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdes, C. O. (Ed.). (2003). Pang-alay: Ritual pottery in ancient Philippines. Makati, Philippines: Ayala Museum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitales, T. J. (2009). Form, function, and meaning: An approach in understanding Melo shell artifacts in Philippine sites. Masters Thesis, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, A. (1985). The reaction against analogy. In M. B. Schiffer (Ed.), Advances in archaeological method and theory (Vol. 8, pp. 63–112). New York, NY: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Professor William Longacre and Danilo Galang for taking time to comment on the draft of this chapter. On behalf of the Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Project team, appreciation is in order to institutions and companies who have supported our basic research through the years: The National Museum of the Philippines, The University of the Philippines, Coral Bay and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Companies, Philodrill Corporation, Petroenergy Corporation, The British Academy, the University College Dublin Seed Fund, the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Science, and the Solheim Foundation for Archaeological Research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

    Victor Paz

  2. National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

    Victor Paz

Authors
  1. Victor Paz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor Paz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Social and Cultural Studies, Massey University, Private Bag 102 904, Auckland, 0745, New Zealand

    Kathryn Rountree

  2. , Department of Classics, School of Histor, Trinity College,Dublin, Dublin, 2, Ireland

    Christine Morris

  3. , School of Archaeology, University College, Dublin, Newman Building, Dublin, 4, Ireland

    Alan A. D. Peatfield

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Paz, V. (2012). Accessing Past Cosmologies through Material Culture and the Landscape in the Philippines. In: Rountree, K., Morris, C., Peatfield, A. (eds) Archaeology of Spiritualities. One World Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3354-5_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation