The Early Ancestors of the Philippines

Our race is a unique mixture of different cultures. We became Filipinos because we came from our ancestors. This article will provide you information about the early ancestors of our country. Many historians and archaeologists believed that our country is part of Asian mainland. There were long strips of land connected to Asia, and it was used by our ancestors to reach Philippines. However, these land bridges disappeared after Ice . Age which caused the lands to drift apart.

There were many theories of our origin. One is the Tabon Cave Man theory. It explained that the Tabon Cave Man was the first people who lived in our country. Their remains can were found in Palawan. But according to Dr. H. Otley Beyer, an American anthropologist, there were 3 kinds of people who came to Philippines. They were Negritos, Indos, and Malays.

Negritos

The Negritos were the first group of people who came to our country through land bridges. They were nomads because they had no permanent homes. They were small, about four feet tall, flat nose, thick lips, round black eyes, and dark skin. At present, they are known as Ita, Baluga, Agta. Most of them can still be seen living in caves and mountains.

Indones

These group of people arrived in the Philippines using boats. They were more civilized than Negritos. According to history, two groups of Indones came to Philippines. The first group were tall and slender, had brown skin, thin lips, high-bridged nose. Their tools were made of stones. The second group came from Indo-China and Southern China. They were short, had dark skin. They were better than the first group. Indones were hunters. They stayed in a house made of wood. They also used fire to cook food.

Malays

They were the third group of people who migrated to the Philippines. They came from Malay Peninsula in big boats called Balangay. There were three groups of Malay who settled in our country. The first group settled in Palawan and Mindoro. They were from West Borneo. They were well-built, medium height,brown complexion,straight black hair and flat noses. Their tools and weapons were made from Bronze. They were the ancestors of Tagalog, Ilocanos and Bicolanos. The second group of Malays were more civilized than the first group. They were also the ancestors of Tagalog and Visayans. They also used alphabet. The third group of Malays brought Islam in Philippines. Their system of society is more better than the two groups. They introduced the importance of governance by forming tribes and communities.