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John Reczon E. Calay English 10
2013-18354 24 March 2014
Linking the Past to the Present
Have you ever asked yourself if prehistoric people can also do works of art?
Aside from hunting skills of archery, spear and rock throwing and animal stalking
(Surolia, n.d.), they also document their tribes activities. This document was sculpted in
Angono, Rizalthe Art Capital of the Philippineswhere the Angono Petroglyphs, the
oldest known work of art in the country and a testament of prehistoric Filipino
creativity, is located.
The discovery of the petroglyphs was quite accidental. Carlos Botong V.
Francisco, noted muralist and National Artist for Painting, was on a field trip with a
troop of Boy Scouts on March 1965 at a cave located in the hills of Angono. While lying
down, he noticed deeply-etched lines resembling a man, a lizard, and a frog on a
rockwall which upon closer observation, it can be recognized as what artists call a
primitive quality (Peralta, 1973). Having doubts if the rockwall possesses authentic
prehistoric drawings and if these etchings were of historical and artistic importance, he
reported it to the National Museum of the Philippines (Peralta, 1973). The cave that they
stayed in was a 63-meter high (in length) wide volcanic tuff in a rockshelter and was
called Matandang Yungib (Old Cave) by the people there (Ronquillo, 2003).
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Several surveys, tests, research studies, and excavations were conducted
immediately when Francisco reported these unusual engravings in the National
Museum in 1965. The archaeological team of the National Museum went to Angono at
the same year to conduct excavations on the shelter floor and to test the casting of the
rock engravings. The initial excavations, however, yielded negative results yet the
succeeding test excavations obtain archaeological materials like lithics (stone tools), a
polished trapezoidal adze, and few fragmented pieces of earthenware ceramics (Vitales,
2013); and fossils of Pygmy Stegodon and petrified remains of a giant land turtle (The
Artes de las Filipinas Research Team, 2013). The materials found in the excavations
suggest that the drawings were incised almost 3,000 years ago during the Neolithic
Period according to Roden Santiago, Officer-in-Charge of the Petroglyphs (Navarra,
2013).
According to Jesus Peraltas report, there are 127 individual drawings still
discernible on the rockwall (1973) including the frog-like, lizard-like, and man-like
etchings Francisco described. Moreover, 51 of the 127 figures were distinct from each
other (Navarra, 2013). There are also drawings still indeterminable due to the obscurity
of the incision of the lines because of the erosions occurred on the rock surface.
Currently, the petroglyphs are being re-analyzed by the collaborative efforts of
the University of the PhilippinesNational Institute of Physics, University of the
PhilippinesArchaeological Studies Program, and the National Museum using state-of-
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the-art instruments that produce digital casts of the petroglyphs to understand more
about how those etchings were made (Vitales, 2013).
Such awards and declarations were bestowed upon to this heritage. Former
Philippine president Ferdinand E. Marcos declared the petroglyphs as a National
Cultural Treasure in August 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260 (Office of the
President, 1973). It was also included in the World Inventory of Rock Art in 1985 and
one of the 100 most imperiled historic sites in the world by the World Monuments
Watch and World Monuments Fund (Ronquillo, 2003).
Destruction of the petroglyphs was inevitable due to natural occurrences like soil
erosions, etc.; and human negligence such as vandalism primarily. Thats why a
viewing deck was built in 1997 so that visitors could view the carvings without actually
touching them (Navarra, 2013).
To further promote its historical importance, the Angono Petroglyphs is one of
the itineraries of some field trips and educational tours of students (Navarra, 2013). The
municipal government of Angono includes this heritage site as one of its tourist spots.
Though other people see the Angono Petroglyphs as mere carvings of primitive
people, let us all value its historical significance and further protect it to human threats,
because this is one of the oldest surviving rock art in Asia. This national heritage links
the past to the present times and it is a proof that Filipinos, even though in the
prehistoric times, were artistic and creative.
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REFERENCES
Angono petroglyphs, why it matters. (n.d.). Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.wmf.org/project/angono-petroglyphs

Navarra, P. M. D. (2013, August 18). Angono petroglyphs: A shelter of the past
(features). Balita. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://balita.ph/2013/08/18/angono-petroglyphs-a-shelter-of-the-past-features/

Office of the President. (1973). Declaring the Sta. Ana site museum in Manila, the
Roman Catholic churches of Paoay and Bacarra in Ilocos Norte, the San Agustin
church and liturgical objects therein in Intramuros, Manila, Fort Pilar in
Zamboanga city, the petroglyphs of the rock-shelter in Angono, Rizal, the
petroglyphs of Alab, Bontoc, the stone agricultural calendars of Dap-ay Guiday
in Besao, Bontoc, the mummy caves of Kabayan, Benguet and of Sagada and
Alab, Bontoc, the Ifugao rice terraces of Banaue as national cultural treasures;
and the Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan, Tirad Pass in Cervantes, Ilocos
Sur, the Miagao church in Miagao, Iloilo, the site of the battle of Mactan on
Mactan island, Cebu, the San Sebastian church in Quiapo, Manila, and the
church and convent of Santo Nio in Cebu city as national shrines, monuments,
and/or landmarks, defining the implementing agencies and providing funds
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therefor (Presidential Decree No. 260). Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.tieza.com.ph/ckfinder/userfiles/files/LAWS/PD260.pdf

Peralta, J. T. (1973). The petroglyphs of the Angono rockshelter Rizal, Philippines.
Unpublished Masters Thesis. Department of Anthrpology, University of the
Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Petroglyphs and petrographs of the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/

Ronquillo, W. P. (2003). Philippine terrestrial archaeology in 1988: The Angono
petroglyphs rock-shelter archaeological test excavations. Philippine Quarterly of
Culture and Society, Vol. 31, No. 1/2, pp. 100-101. Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/29792517

Surolia, S. (n.d.). Primitive human beings lived in a harsh environment. Preserve Articles.
Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.preservearticles.com/2012010620053/primitive-human-beings-lived-
in-a-harsh-environment-essay.html

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The Artes de las Filipinas Research Team. (2013). The Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs.
Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/152/the-angono-binangonan-
petroglyphs

Vitales, T. J. (2013). Archaeological research in the Laguna de Bay area, Philippines.
Hukay, Journal for Archaeological Research in Asia and the Pacific, Vol 18, pp.59-62.
Retrieved 24 March 2014 from
http://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/asp/article/viewFile/3961/3606