H.

Otley Beyers Philippine Neolithic in

the Context of Postwar Discoveries in
Local Archaeology in the Philippines
Evangelista, Alfred
INTRODUCTION
 Major roles in cultural, social, and local development

Dr. Frank Lynch (Master Degree in UP)

Submitted a thesis on analysis of Philippines stone finds

in South Luzon
NEOLITHIC (ETYMOLOGY)
 Neo meaning new and Lithos meaning stone

Archaeologys success in determining cultural stages

Stone Age -> Copper Stage -> Bronze Stage -> Iron Stage

Ages were not universal. Some started and ended sooner than
others. Some did not experience it.
Christian
Thomsen

First categorized artifacts into cultural stages

Determined cultural stages through depths in the archaeological

site where the artifacts were found.
Beyers Theoretical Framework of
the Philippine Neolithic
Early Neolithic (6,000 4,000 B.C.)

Characterized by the appearance of Bacsonian-type

protoneoliths
Northern Indochina, Siam, Malaya, Sumatra
Identified with oval/cylindrical/lenticular cross-sectioned axe-
adzes
Dry form of agriculture, no pottery
Neolithic flint adzes with
lenticular cross section

(South Eastern Europe, III

Millennium BC)
 Middle Neolithic (2,250 1,750 B.C.)
Characterized by the early true shouldered axe-adze culture
Based on diagnostic tool-traditions

Late Neolithic (1,750 - 200 B.C.)

Distinguished by 4 important new developments
1 : use of very hard and fine-grained stones
2 : new methods of manufacture (e.g. sawing and drilling)
3 : great increase in the number and variety of stone artifacts
produced
4 : full development of rectangular and trapezoidal axe-adze-chisel
forms
 Entry into the Philippines

true developed rectangular and trapezoidal adze (1750-

1250 B.C.)
true early stepped adze developed rapidly in Luzon
(1250-800 B.C.)
true Yangshao-culture wave stone-sawing, hole boring,
jade cult, and the appearance of barkcloth beater, stone
beads, ancient glass beads (800-500 B.C.)
true Philippine stepped-adze (500-200 B.C.)
Rectangular Adze (Javanese, Neolithic)
Tridacna Giga shell adze
Problems of the Philippine Neolithic
 Beyers noted on one his major publication in 1948 that it was a
full review of our existing knowledge and views.

Incomplete. He admitted that it was to early and information

was to little to make a conclusion

the conclusions he made then were based on actual finds but is

tentative and subject to revision and amendment as new facts
are brought out by future researches
 he failed to air publicity on his comments on the various fresh
post war finds from the country

he did not fulfill the revisions even when he had constant

access to the information.
Dating Neolithic Stations

Philippine Neolithic occupies same position in relation to the

other ages or stages as delineated for the Asiatic mainland with
the exception of the bronze age.

An examination of Beyers phases of the Philippine Neolithic

reveals an emphasis on artifactual types particularly stone
tools.
 he has avoided to date any detailed discussion on the methods
he used to remove the artifacts from the archeological context.

Led many of his colleagues to conclude that his collection came

from disturbed deposits and hasty diggings.

reported countless scattered surface finds from all over the

country.
 it is for this reason it comes as a puzzle how he succeeded in
delineating the phases of the Neolithic

V. Gordon Childe the only proper chronological of the Neolithic

in any are must be must be based on stratigraphy

Beyer employed a method proposed by Heine-Geldern for the

Indonesian archipelago called the indirect method

Beyer typed his Neolithic stone implements through comparison

with the same material discovered in the former.
 if a tool type is absent outside the Philippines a development is
postulated.

Beyers reconstructions form a useful frame of reference to

workers who carry on the task of excavating, interpreting and
theorizing

Inadequacies of his data were not consequences of the non

existence of basic techniques and methods of archaeological
excavations.
 Associated Neolithic Complexes

Stone tool complex - research has not yet produced a stratified

pre Spanish site with all the Neolithic tool types represented.

distinguishing characteristics of the stage is based on the

technique of finishing the stone implement

in the later stages of the Neolithic the implements were ground

and or polished.
The jade problem

Green jade earrings, pendants, and

bracelets have been found in
association with Late Neolithic of
Batangas Province.

These assemblages represent

Chalcolitic Era (as proposed by
Robert Fox), a transitional phase
linking Late Neolithic and Early iron
age.
abundance of adzes in the Batangas sites made from white of
chicken bone jade.
 But there is no known source of nephrite in the islands, hence its
probable source is traced mainland.
(Evangelista, identifying some intrusive archeological materials
found in Philippine proto-historic sites)

It may also be said that Batangas once had intrusive nephrite

raw material which has lapsed into obscurity in later times.
The Problem of Culture Growth in the Philippines
Beyer's Wave of Migration Theory

Peopling of the Philippines occurred in batches or waves

First wave: Negritos or the pygmies

Second wave: Indonesians
Third Wave: Malays
Implication?

Assumption that man is uninventive and that the only way for a
change in appearance, invention, technology and cognitive
abilities is through migration.

Migration as the sole source of cultural change.