SCIENCE, TECH.,& SOCIETY
LECTURE / 1ST SEMESTER / TUESDAYS 1:00-4:00PM
HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Introduction
➢ Iron needles
• The need to develop a country’s science and technology has generally ➢ Tin
been recognized as one of the imperatives of socioeconomic progress in
What did the Spanish Colonizers Observed upon Arrival?
the contemporary world.
• By the time Spaniards came to Colonize the Philippines in 1565
• Science is concerned with the systematic understanding and explanation
• They found many scattered autonomous village communities (called
of the laws of nature,
barangays) all over the archipelago.
• Technology has often been understood as “systematic knowledge of the • Barangay- These were kinship groups or social units rather than political
industrial arts” units. They were essentially subsistence economies producing mainly
Pre-Colonial Science and Technology what they needed.
• The Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in 1521. • Settlements along the coastal areas which had been exposed with foreign
• Early Filipinos had attained a generally simple level of technological trade and cultural contacts such as Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, South
development, but this was sufficient for their needs at that period. Mindanao and Sulu seem to have attained more sophisticated
• Archaeological findings indicate that Homo Sapiens from the Asian technology.
mainland first came over-land and across narrow channels to live in • In 1570 Spaniards found the town of Mindoro “fortified by a stone wall
Palawan and Batangas around 50,000 years ago. over fourteen feet thick” and defended by armed Moros—bowmen,
• For about 40, 000 years, they made simple tools or weapons of stone lancers, and some gunners, linstocks in hand.
flakes but eventually developed techniques for sawing, drilling, and • They also found Manila defended by a palisade along its front with pieces
polishing hard stones. of Artillery at its gate.
• Stone Age inhabitants formed settlements in the major Philippine islands • The house of Raja Soliman which was burned down by the Spaniards
like Sulu, Mindanao (Zamboanga and Davao), Negros, Samar, Luzon contained valuables like:
(Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, and the Cagayan Region) ➢ Money
• By about 3,000 B.C, they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells ➢ Copper
and pottery of various designs. ➢ Iron
• Gradually, early Filipinos learned to make metal tools and implements— ➢ Porcelain
copper, gold, bronze, and later iron. ➢ Blankets
• Iron age is considered to have lasted from the second or third century ➢ Wax
B.C to the tenth century A.D ➢ Cotton
• Excavation of Philippine Graves and work sites have yielded iron slags. ➢ Wooden Vats full of Brandy
This means that during this period, Filipinos engage in extraction if iron • Spanish Colonizers noted that all over the islands, Filipinos were
from ore, smelting, and refining. Growing Rice, vegetables, and cotton; raising swine, goats, and
• By the First Century A.D., Filipinos were weaving cotton, smelting iron, fowls; making wine, vinegar, and salt; weaving cloth and producing
making pottery and glass ornaments, and were also engaged in beeswax and honey.
agriculture. • Filipinos were also Mining Gold in Panay, Mindoro, and Bicol
• Banaue Rice Terraces- Where Lowland Rice was cultivated in diked • Filipinos wear colorful clothes, made their own fold jewelry, and
fields and in this interior mountain region which utilized spring water. even filled their teeth with gold.
• Filipinos also learned to build boats for coastal trades. • Filipino houses were made of wood or bamboo and nipa.
• Caracoa- A refined plank-built warship that was well suited for inter-island • Filipinos also had their own system of writing used for message and
trade raids. letters
• The Spaniards utilized the Filipino expertise in boat-building and • Some communities had become renowned for their plank-built boats.
seamanship to fight the raiding Dutch, Portuguese, Muslims and the • Filipinos do not have calendars but counted the years by Moons and
Chinese pirate Lumahong as well as to build and man the galleons that from one harvest to another.
sailed to Mexico. • Filipinos were still highly superstitious.
• By the 10th Century, the inhabitants of Butuan were trading with Champa • No temples, or places to worship.
(Vietnam); those of Ma-I (Mindoro) with China. The Spanish Regime
• Ma-I- Mindoro • The Spaniards established schools, hospitals and started scientific
• San Hsu- Three islands which present-day Historians think refer to the research and these had important consequences for the rise of the
group of Palawan and Calamian. country’s professions.
• The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu were trading the following: • The direction and pace of development of Science and Technology were
➢ Beeswax greatly shaped by the role of religious orders in the conquest and
➢ Cotton colonization of the archipelago and by economic and trade adopted by
➢ True Pearls the colonial government.
➢ Tortoise Shell • Reduccion- A religious strategy used in Latin America. It required the
➢ Medicinal Betelnuts consolidation of the far-flung, scattered barangay communities into fewer,
➢ Yu-ta Cloth (jute or ramie) larger and more compact settlements within the hearing distance of the
➢ Coconut heart mats church bells.
For: - The net results of reduccion were creation of towns and the
➢ Chinese Porcelain foundation of the present system of local government.
➢ Iron Pots - Filipinos naturally resisted reduccion as it took them away from their
➢ Lead Fishnet Sinkers rice fields, the streams and the forests which were they traditional
➢ Colored Glass beads
LECTURE / 1ST SEMESTER / TUESDAYS 1:00-4:00PM
HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Introduction
➢ Iron needles
• The need to develop a country’s science and technology has generally ➢ Tin
been recognized as one of the imperatives of socioeconomic progress in
What did the Spanish Colonizers Observed upon Arrival?
the contemporary world.
• By the time Spaniards came to Colonize the Philippines in 1565
• Science is concerned with the systematic understanding and explanation
• They found many scattered autonomous village communities (called
of the laws of nature,
barangays) all over the archipelago.
• Technology has often been understood as “systematic knowledge of the • Barangay- These were kinship groups or social units rather than political
industrial arts” units. They were essentially subsistence economies producing mainly
Pre-Colonial Science and Technology what they needed.
• The Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in 1521. • Settlements along the coastal areas which had been exposed with foreign
• Early Filipinos had attained a generally simple level of technological trade and cultural contacts such as Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, South
development, but this was sufficient for their needs at that period. Mindanao and Sulu seem to have attained more sophisticated
• Archaeological findings indicate that Homo Sapiens from the Asian technology.
mainland first came over-land and across narrow channels to live in • In 1570 Spaniards found the town of Mindoro “fortified by a stone wall
Palawan and Batangas around 50,000 years ago. over fourteen feet thick” and defended by armed Moros—bowmen,
• For about 40, 000 years, they made simple tools or weapons of stone lancers, and some gunners, linstocks in hand.
flakes but eventually developed techniques for sawing, drilling, and • They also found Manila defended by a palisade along its front with pieces
polishing hard stones. of Artillery at its gate.
• Stone Age inhabitants formed settlements in the major Philippine islands • The house of Raja Soliman which was burned down by the Spaniards
like Sulu, Mindanao (Zamboanga and Davao), Negros, Samar, Luzon contained valuables like:
(Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, and the Cagayan Region) ➢ Money
• By about 3,000 B.C, they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells ➢ Copper
and pottery of various designs. ➢ Iron
• Gradually, early Filipinos learned to make metal tools and implements— ➢ Porcelain
copper, gold, bronze, and later iron. ➢ Blankets
• Iron age is considered to have lasted from the second or third century ➢ Wax
B.C to the tenth century A.D ➢ Cotton
• Excavation of Philippine Graves and work sites have yielded iron slags. ➢ Wooden Vats full of Brandy
This means that during this period, Filipinos engage in extraction if iron • Spanish Colonizers noted that all over the islands, Filipinos were
from ore, smelting, and refining. Growing Rice, vegetables, and cotton; raising swine, goats, and
• By the First Century A.D., Filipinos were weaving cotton, smelting iron, fowls; making wine, vinegar, and salt; weaving cloth and producing
making pottery and glass ornaments, and were also engaged in beeswax and honey.
agriculture. • Filipinos were also Mining Gold in Panay, Mindoro, and Bicol
• Banaue Rice Terraces- Where Lowland Rice was cultivated in diked • Filipinos wear colorful clothes, made their own fold jewelry, and
fields and in this interior mountain region which utilized spring water. even filled their teeth with gold.
• Filipinos also learned to build boats for coastal trades. • Filipino houses were made of wood or bamboo and nipa.
• Caracoa- A refined plank-built warship that was well suited for inter-island • Filipinos also had their own system of writing used for message and
trade raids. letters
• The Spaniards utilized the Filipino expertise in boat-building and • Some communities had become renowned for their plank-built boats.
seamanship to fight the raiding Dutch, Portuguese, Muslims and the • Filipinos do not have calendars but counted the years by Moons and
Chinese pirate Lumahong as well as to build and man the galleons that from one harvest to another.
sailed to Mexico. • Filipinos were still highly superstitious.
• By the 10th Century, the inhabitants of Butuan were trading with Champa • No temples, or places to worship.
(Vietnam); those of Ma-I (Mindoro) with China. The Spanish Regime
• Ma-I- Mindoro • The Spaniards established schools, hospitals and started scientific
• San Hsu- Three islands which present-day Historians think refer to the research and these had important consequences for the rise of the
group of Palawan and Calamian. country’s professions.
• The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu were trading the following: • The direction and pace of development of Science and Technology were
➢ Beeswax greatly shaped by the role of religious orders in the conquest and
➢ Cotton colonization of the archipelago and by economic and trade adopted by
➢ True Pearls the colonial government.
➢ Tortoise Shell • Reduccion- A religious strategy used in Latin America. It required the
➢ Medicinal Betelnuts consolidation of the far-flung, scattered barangay communities into fewer,
➢ Yu-ta Cloth (jute or ramie) larger and more compact settlements within the hearing distance of the
➢ Coconut heart mats church bells.
For: - The net results of reduccion were creation of towns and the
➢ Chinese Porcelain foundation of the present system of local government.
➢ Iron Pots - Filipinos naturally resisted reduccion as it took them away from their
➢ Lead Fishnet Sinkers rice fields, the streams and the forests which were they traditional
➢ Colored Glass beads
