DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 31 March) – Artifacts taken during an Archaeological Surface Survey in nine Lanao del Sur towns in August last year show a “definite and incontrovertible scientific evidence” that there were settlements on the banks of Lake Lanao that “date back to the Neolithic Period estimated to be 4,000 BC,” Robert Maulana Marohombsar Alonto, Lanao del Sur Commissioner of the Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (BCPCH) said.
Alonto posted on social media last Friday that Dr. Lee Neri, Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines School of Archaeology and head of the survey team, announced the results of the survey during a video conference held Wednesday morning, March 27.
“Now we can validate the history and cultural evolution of Ranao through archaeology,” he said.
“There are more surprising archaeological findings never known before that I’m not yet at liberty to disclose pending the official written report of Dr. Neri “but it can now be said that Lanao del Sur is definitely on the archaeological map of the Philippines and the world!,” Alonto wrote.
“To say the least, the results were staggering!,” he said.
Neri’s written report, he added, “will be out in two weeks.”
According to Alonto, the August 2023 archaeological survey was the first to be conducted in Lanao del Sur, home to Lake Lanao. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources describes Lake Lanao as Mindanao’s largest lake, the Philippines’ second largest lake “and is considered one of the 15 ancient lakes in the world.”
All 324 artifacts gathered by the Archeological Survey Team from the nine sites last year were brought to Manila for rigid scientific clinical processing, analysis and evaluation, Alonto said.
The Archaeological Surface Survey was a collaboration between and among the UP School of Archaeology, the BCPCH-Lanao del Sur, the Lanao del Sur Provincial Government and the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).
Alonto said, the team from Manila, composed of Dr. Neri and UP School of Archaeology graduate students, was accompanied to the survey sites by BCPCH-Lanao del Sur staff, two history professors from the MSU-IIT and MSU-Marawi and a three-member contingent from BCPCH-Maguindanao.
“The survey aimed to unearth ancient settlements and shed light on Lanao del Sur’s historical and cultural past. Experts, scholars, and enthusiasts embarked on a six-day journey of exploration. Engaging with local communities, the teams merged academic expertise with community insights, collecting surface artifacts and laying the groundwork for future heritage tourism initiatives,” the BCPCH-Lanao del Sur posted on its social media page on August 27, 2023.
It noted that the cooperative effort “exemplified the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage while also harnessing its potential for tourism. With the survey’s conclusion, a report will be compiled, detailing findings and recommendations that will shape heritage conservation policies and tourism strategies.”
He said he hopes more archaeological surveys and excavations will be undertaken in other BARMM provinces.
“We will not only write Bangsamoro history, we will dig it up through archaeology,” he said.
In another post, Alonto narrated that the first line of the ‘Bangsamoro Song’ composed by the late UP Professor Jalaludin ‘Joel’ delos Santos and himself in 1987, states: “Ancient islands in sea of azure blue…”
“Now it can be said with confidence backed by scientific evidence that we are, indeed, ‘ancient,’ particularly Ranao,” he said.
According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC, the Neolithic period or New Stone Age, “is characterized by the beginning of a settled human lifestyle. People learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals for food, rather than rely solely on hunting and gathering. That coincided with the use of more sophisticated stone tools, which were useful for farming and animal herding. In China, this period began around 7000 BCE and lasted until 1700 BCE.”
According to the Philippines’ National Museum, Neolithic period has been described as a “transition from hunter-gatherer population to village farmers with adaptation to horticulture, agriculture, and animal domestications.”
“This period is characterized by the presence of ground stone and shell adzes as material evidence for farming or horticulture, weaving and bark cloth production,” it said.
In Philippine prehistory, it said, “Neolithic period is about 5000 to 2500 years ago or about 3000–500 Before Common Era (BCE). Associated artifacts include Taiwan slate knives and projectile point, notched pebble, net sinkers, and animal domestication has become evident from the remains of pig and dog bones recovered from archaeological sites.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
