Evolution of Filipino Identity & Early Migration Theories

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, theories, scholars, and archaeological finds related to the evolution of the Filipino language and early migration into the Philippines.

Tagalog (1937)

Declared the basis of the national language in 1937; a major Philippine language with several dialectal variations.

Pilipino (1959)

Name adopted in 1959 for the national language, still largely Tagalog-based and reflecting a regionalist mindset.

Filipino (1987)

The inclusive, evolving national language mandated by Article XIV, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Panahon ng Katutubo (Pre-colonial Era)

Period before Spanish rule when indigenous Filipinos developed their own social, economic, and cultural systems.

Wave Migration Theory

Dr. Henry Otley Beyer’s idea that Negrito, Indonesian, and Malay peoples reached the Philippines in successive waves.

Henry Otley Beyer

American anthropologist ("Father of Philippine Anthropology") who proposed the Wave Migration Theory in 1916.

Land-Bridge Theory

Robert B. Fox’s view that early humans entered the Philippines via exposed land bridges during the Ice Age.

Robert B. Fox

American anthropologist-historian who excavated Tabon Cave (1962) and advanced the land-bridge explanation.

Tabon Cave

Site in Palawan where Fox unearthed 50,000-year-old human remains known as Tabon Man.

Core Population Theory

Felipe Landa Jocano’s proposal that Southeast Asians came from a single ancestral group that later diversified.

Felipe Landa Jocano

Filipino anthropologist who framed the Core Population Theory through UP and National Museum research.

Homo erectus (Java Man)

"Upright man" fossils found in Java; one of the early human species linked to Southeast Asian prehistory.

Homo sapiens (Peking Man)

Early modern human fossils from China, demonstrating ancient human presence in East Asia.

Taong Tabon

Name given to the prehistoric human remains discovered in Tabon Cave, Palawan.

Armand Mijares

Filipino archaeologist who discovered 67,000-year-old Callao Man in Cagayan’s Callao Cave.

Callao Cave

Cagayan cave where the oldest known Philippine human remains (Callao Man) were found.

Taong Callao

Hominin species dating to about 67,000 BP, represented by a foot bone uncovered in Callao Cave.

Wilhelm G. Solheim II

"Father of Southeast Asian Archaeology" who formulated the Nusantao Maritime Trading Network concept.

Austronesian Migration Theory

Explains the spread of Austronesian peoples from South China/Taiwan through the Philippines into the Pacific.

Nusantao

Maritime-oriented Austronesian ancestors proposed by Solheim to have spread culture via sea trade routes.

Peter Bellwood

Australian archaeologist who traced Austronesian expansion through Taiwan and the Philippines around 5000 BC.

Rice Terracing

Agricultural technique introduced by Austronesians, exemplified by the Ifugao rice terraces.

Jar Burial

Prehistoric practice of interring the dead in large earthenware jars, linked to Austronesian culture.

Baybayin

Ancient pre-colonial Philippine syllabary used for writing before Spanish contact.