LESSON 1
The Peopling of the Philippines
Archaeological finds in Palawan (e.g., Tabon Skull fragments) suggest that there were already prehistoric
inhabitants in the Philippines as early as the Pleistocene period. Through carbon dating, the fossil remains were
believed to be about 22,000 years old. In the Philippine cultural landscape, the new Stone Age was the impetus
of the development of Filipino modern societies. At this point, early Filipinos were starting to domesticate plants
and animals, and food production was no longer limited to family consumption. At that time, people were
dependent on agricultural as well as hunting and gathering activities. The work of Gaillard and Mallari (2004)
summarized the different schools of thought to explain the peopling of the Philippines. The first hypothesis argues
that there is an internal development happening within the so-called Austronesian region (citing the work of
William Meacham). This means that there was an internal human evolution that transpired around that area.
Another theory is the Multiple Homeland Hypothesis proposed by Bayer, which argues that there are multiple
origins of the peopling of the Philippines. The first wave relates to the movement of people coming from Indonesia
to the Philippines. The second movement also originated from Indonesia—when the people reached the country,
they dispersed and proceeded to different islands. The third wave came from Indochina, while the last wave came
from Mainland China to the Philippines. The other theory is the Melanesian Homeland Hypothesis (cited in the
work of Dren), which argues that the movement of people originated from Melanesia around 3,500 BC. The
Unique South China Sea Homeland Hypothesis proposed by Solheim, meanwhile, argues that the peopling of
the Philippines was related to the thriving of trade relations happening around Borneo and the Celebes Sea
(Gaillard and Mallari, 2004). The trade activities brought the Nusantao to the Philippines and even as far as
Taiwan.
The last theory, which is the Unique Mainland Southeastern China Hypothesis, made use of linguistic
evidence (lexicon and morphology) to demonstrate the origins of the movements of people to the Philippines, but
to this day the movement routes are still in question (Gaillard and Mallari, 2004). Archaeologist Heine-Geldern
believed that the movement started in South China, then proceeded to the Malay Peninsula moving toward Borneo
and then finally through Palawan (Gaillard and Mallari, 2004). A slightly different hypothesis was proposed by
Thomas and Healey and Llamzon (in Gaillard and Mallari, 2004). Their theory argues that the movement started
from Southeastern China, to Indochina, Malay Peninsula, then to Borneo, finally entering the Philippines through
different routes, one group going to Palawan and Mindoro and the other through the island of Mindanao. Lastly,
the theory proposed by Suggs and Shutler and Marck maintains that the movement of people to the Philippines
started in China, proceeding to Formosa, then to the Batanes Islands until the group scattered around the
archipelago and reached as far as Borneo (Gaillard and Mallari, 2004).
Learning Resources/Reading Materials:
❖ Jocano, L. (1967). Beginnings of Filipino Society and Culture. Philippine Studies, 14 (1), 9-40.
❖ Gaillard, J., and Mallari, J. (2004). The peopling of the Philippines: A cartographic synthesis. Hukay:
Journal of the University of the Philippines Archaeological Studies Program, 6, pp.1-27.
