Analyzing Primary Sources in Philippine History: The Early Philippine Society

A set of flashcards covering vocabulary and key facts about the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) and the nature of primary sources in early Philippine history.

Primary sources

Original, firsthand materials created at the time of a historical event—such as documents, artifacts, inscriptions, and chronicles—that offer direct evidence of the past.

Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI)

Discovered in 1989 along the shores of Laguna de Bay, this is the oldest known written document found in the Philippines, dated to 900 CE.

Old Kawi

The Javanese-derived script used for the 10 lines of inscription on one side of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.

April 21, 900 CE

The specific date of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription as pinpointed by scholar Hector Santos using ancient Indian and Indonesian calendars.

LCI Languages

A mixture of Old Malay, Old Javanese, and Old Tagalog found within the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.

Hector Santos

The scholar responsible for pinpointing the exact date of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (April 21, 900 CE).

Laguna Copperplate Inscription Dimensions

A blackened thin copper plate measuring approximately $20 \times 30\,\text{cm}$.

Certificate of debt acquittal

The primary function of the LCI, documenting the clearing of a high official and his descendants from a significant debt paid in gold.

Union of two clans

A key feature of the LCI describing a social arrangement formed as a method of debt acquittal.