An Outlined History of Philippine Archaeology and Its Periodization

Abstract

The Philippines are the northernmost cluster of islands within what is now considered to be Island Southeast Asia. It is comprised of over 7000 islands under the control of the nation-state called the Republic of the Philippines. What may be considered the contemporary practice of archaeology on these islands started in the early twentieth century. However, the discipline took much longer than expected to grow to maturity. The study of archaeology in the Philippines can be divided into five periods: Pre-archaeology, practiced up to the late nineteenth century; Accidental Archaeology, from the late nineteenth century to the early 1920s; Committed Archaeology, from the early 1920s to the mid-1960s; Directed Archaeology, from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s; and Reflective Archaeology, from the late 1990s to the present. This periodization aligns with the transforming ethical practices of the discipline, and tracks the changes in the mentality and infrastructure that led to a more effective practice in the twenty-first century (Paz in Proc Soc Archaeol Philippines 7:1–16, 2009).