Precolonial Science and Technology

D. Reconstructing a picture of Philippine society, culture and technology before the

arrival of the Spaniards in 1521 through:

D1. Contemporary archaeological findings

D1A. accounts by early traders and foreign travelers

D2. narratives about conditions in the archipelago which were written by:

D2A. first Spanish missionaries

D2B. colonial officials

E1. Archaeological findings indicate:

E1A. modern men (homo sapiens) from the Asian mainland first came over-
land and across narrow channels to live in Palawan and Batangas around 50,000
years ago.

E1B. For about 40,000 years, they made simple tools or weapons of stone
flakes but eventually developed techniques for sawing, drilling and polishing hard
stones

F1. Stone Age inhabitants, formed settlements in the major Philippine islands

F1A. Sulu,

F1B. Mindanao (Zamboanga, and Davao)

F1C. Negros, Samar, Luzon (Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and the Cagayan
region)

G1. What has survived of this ancient technology ?

G1A. Is the lowest level, i.e., the present manufacture of the ordinary cooking
pot among several local communities.
H1. Iron Age

H1A. considered to have lasted from the second or third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D.

I1. first century A.D.,

I1A. Filipinos were weaving cotton, smelting iron, making pottery and glass ornaments and were
also engaged in agriculture

I1B. Lowland rice was cultivated in diked fields and in the interior mountain regions as in the Cordillera, in
terraced fields which utilized spring water.

I1C. Filipinos had also learned to build boats for the coastal trade. By the tenth century A.D., this had
become a highly developed technology

I1D. . In fact, the early Spanish chroniclers took note of the refined plank-built warship called caracoa

I1E. The Spaniards later utilized Filipino expertise in boat-building and seamanship to fight the raiding
Dutch, Portuguese, Muslims and the Chinese pirate Limahong as well as to build and man the
galleons that sailed to Mexico.

J1. tenth century A.D

J1A. the inhabitants of Butuan were trading with Champa (Vietnam); those of Ma-i (Mindoro) with
China

J1B. Archaeological findings (in various parts of the archipelago) of Chinese porcelains made during this
period support this contention

K1. From the Sung (960-1278) and Yuan (1260-1368) Dynasties,

K1A. there are descriptions of trade with the Philippines

L1. from the Sung and Ming (1360-1644) Dynasties

L1A. there are notices of Filipino missions to Peking

M1. most frequently cited Chinese account in Philippine history textbooks

M1A. Chao Ju-Kua in 1225

M1.A1. He described the communities and trading activities in the islands of Ma-i (Mindoro) and San-
hsu (literally three islands which present-day historians think refer to the group of Palawan and
Calamian Islands)
 N1. people of Ma-i and San-hsu traded

N1A. beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts, yu-ta cloth (probably jute
or ramie?) and coconut heart mats for Chinese porcelain, iron pots, lead fishnet sinkers, colored glass
beads, iron needles and tin

O1. The Filipinos in Mindanao and Sulu traded

O1A. Borneo, Malacca and parts of the Malay Peninsula. This trade seems to have antedated those with
the Chinese

P1. influences spread to the Philippines.

P1A. Hindu-Buddhist, Malay-Sanskrit and Arab-Muslim Cultural and technological

Q1. Spanish colonies Philippines

Q1A. in 1565.

Q1B. they found many scattered, autonomous village communities (called barangays) all over the
archipelago.

Q1Ba. These were kinship groups or social units rather than political units.

Q1Bb. They were essentially subsistence economies producing mainly what they needed.

Q1Bc. These communities exhibited uneven technological development.

Q1Bd. Settlements along the coastal areas which had been exposed to foreign trade
and cultural contacts such as Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, Southern Mindanao and Sulu,
seem to have attained a more sophisticated technology.

R1. Example:

R1A. . In 1570, the Spaniards found the town of Mindoro "fortified by a stone wall over fourteen
feet thick," and defended by armed Moros -- "bowmen, lancers, and some gunners, linstocks in hand."

S1. burned down by Spaniards

S1A. The house of Raja Soliman.

S1Aa. Reportedly contained valuable articles of trade -- "money, copper, iron, porcelain, blankets,
wax, cotton and wooden vats full of brandy."

T1. Reports indicate that:

T1A. the Filipinos in Manila had learned to make and use modern artillery.
T1B. The Spanish colonizers noted that all over the islands, Filipinos were growing rice, vegetables
and cotton; raising swine, goats and fowls; making wine, vinegar and salt; weaving cloth and producing
beeswax and honey

T1C. The Filipinos were also mining gold in such places as Panay, Mindoro and Bicol. They wore colorful
clothes, made their own gold jewelry and even filled their teeth with gold.

T1D. Their houses were made of wood or bamboo and nipa

T1E. They had their own system of writing and weights and measures. Some communities had become
renowned for their plank-built boats

T1F. They had no calendar but counted the years by moons and from one harvest to another.

U1. pre-colonial Filipinos

U1A. were still highly superstitious

U1B. Spaniards found no temples or places of worship.

U1C. Although the Filipinos knew how to read and write in their own system, this was mainly used for
messages and letters.

V1. As governor Francisco de Sande observed in 1575:

V1A. the Filipinos do not understand any kind of work, unless it be to do something actually necessary --
such as to build their houses, which are made of stakes after their fashion; to fish, according to their
method; to row, and perform the duties of sailors; and to cultivate the land...

2. DEVELOPMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2.1 DURING SPANISH REGIME

A2.1 The Spaniards established schools, hospitals and started scientific research and these had important
consequences for the rise of the country’s professions.

A2.2 Reduccion religious strategy which had been successfully used in Latin America carried out by a
combination of religious conversion and military force.

B-2.1 Net Result of Reduccion

B-2.1a. Was the creation of towns and the foundation of the present system of local government.

C-2.1 First Century of Spanish Rule

 C2.1a. Is brought about serious socio-economic dislocation and a decline kin agricultural
production and traditional crafts in many places.

D2.1 Religious Orders

D2.1a. They played a major role in the establishment of the colonial educational system in the
Philippines

D2.1b. They also influenced the development of technology and promotion of scientific research

E2.1 19th Century

E2.1a. Higher education was pursued for the priesthood or for clerical positions in the
colonial administration

E2.1b. Technical/vocational schools were established by the Spaniards.

F2.1 Highest Institution of Learning

F2.1a. The royal and pontifical University of Santo Tomas.

F2.1-1a. Run by the Dominicans, it was established as a college in 1611 by Fray Miguel de
Benavides and it initially granted degrees in theology, philosophy and humanities.

G2.1 18th Century

G2.1a. The faculty of jurisprudence and canonical law was established.

G2.1b. In 1871, the schools of medicine and pharmacy were opened

G2.1c. From 1871 to 1886, the University of Santo Tomas granted the degree of Licenciado en
Medicina to 62 graduates

G2.1d. For the doctorate degree in medicine, at least an additonal year of study was required at
the Universidad Central de Madrid in Spain.

H2.1 Study of Pharmacy

H2.1a. Consisted of a preparatory course with subjects in natural history and general chemistry
and five years of studies in subjects such as pharmaceutical operations at the school of pharmacy.

H2.1b. At the end of this period of the degree of Bachiller en Farmacia was granted.

I2.1 Father of Philippine Pharmacy

I2.1a. Leon Ma. Guerrero due to his extensive work on the medicinal plants of the Philippines and
their uses.
 J2.1 Total number of graduates in Pharmacy during Spanish period

J2.1a. 164

3.1 AMERICAN REGIME

3.1A. Group of Filipino students which set up the Propaganda Movement in Europe that eventually
led to the Philippine revolution against Spain.

3.1Aa. Jose Rizal who was able to pursue studies in Medicine and specialize in
ophthalmology in Spain and Germany.

3.1Ab. Graciano Apacible who studied medicine in Madrid.

3.1Ac. Antonio Luna who obtained his Ph.D. in pharmacy in Madrid and later worked
with renowned scientists in Ghent and Paris

3.1d. Jose Alejandrino who took up engineering in Belgium.

3.1B 17th century

3.1 Ba.The Spaniards introduced the technology of town planning and building with stones,
brick and tiles.

3.2Bb. The construction of the walls of Manila, its churches, convents, hospitals, schools
and public buildings.

` 3.1C End of 16th Century

3.1Ca. The religious orders had established several charity hospitals in the archipelago
and in fact provided the bulk of this public service.

3.1D. Spanish missionaries observed, catalogued and wrote about Philippine plants, particularly
those with medicinal properties

3.1Da. Father Fernando de Sta. Maria's Manual de Medicinas Caseras published in 1763
which was so in demand that it had undergone several editions by 1885.

3.1E. The second half of the nineteenth century

3.1Ea. Studies of infectious diseases such as smallpox, cholera, bubonic plague,

dysentery, leprosy and malaria were intensified with the participation of graduates of
medicine and pharmacy from UST.

3.1Eb. Native Filipinos began to participate in scientific research.

3.1Ec. In 1887, the Laboratorio Municipal de Ciudad de Manila was created by decree.
3.1Ec.1 Its main functions were to conduct biochemical analyses for public health
and to undertake specimen examinations for clinical and medico-legal cases.

3.1Ec.2. It had a publication called Cronica de Ciencias Medicas de Filipinas

showing scientific studies being done during that time.