1. Agriculture
The Banaue Rice Terraces, theyare part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, ancient sprawlingman -made
structures from 2,000 to 6,000 years old, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
EarlyFilipinos were good agriculturists. A report duringthe time of MiguelLópezde Legazpi notedof the great abundance of
rice, fowls, wine as well as great numbers ofcarabaos, deer, wildboar andgoats inLuzon. Inaddition, there were alsogreat
quantities of cottonandcoloredclothes, wax, honeyanddate palms produced bythe natives. In the Visayas, accordingto
another earlyreport, rice, cotton, swine, fowls, wax andhoneyabound. Leyte was saidto produce tworice crops a year, and
Pedro Chirino commented onthe great rice andcottonharvests that were sufficient to feed and cloththe people
Duck culture wasalso practiced bythe natives, particularlythose around Pateros and TaguigCity. This resembled the Chinese
methods of artificial incubation ofeggs andthe knowledge of everyphase of a duck's life. This traditionis carriedon until
modern times.[1]
The Ifugaos of the mountainous regionof the Cordilleras built irrigations, dams andhydraulic works and the famous Banaue
Rice Terraces as a wayfor assisting in growing crops around1000 BC.[1]
Art of War ;further information:Filipinomartial arts -High qualitymetal casting, artillery, andother metal works had been
traditions throughout the ancient Philippines. The metal smith, or pandaypirayof Pampanga was skilledat making weapons,
and manyindividuals withthe surnames VirayandPirayare saidto be descendants of people whowere once members of the
guild ofsmiths whofollowed the tradition ofthe pandaypira.[1]
EarlyFilipinos usedsmall arquebuses, or portable cannons made upof bronze. Larger cannons, on the other hand, were made
of iron andresemblingculverins provided heavier firepower. The iron cannon at RajahSulaimanIII's house was about 17 feet
long andwas made from clayand wax moulds.[1]
Guns were also locallymanufacturedandusedbythe natives. The most fearsome among these native guns was the lantaka, or
swivel gun, whichallowedthe gunner to quicklytrack a moving target.[1] Some ofthe weaponryusedbythe natives was quite
unusual. For instance, one weaponwas the prototype of the modern-dayyo-yo, and it returnedto is owner after being flung at
an opponent.
Swords were alsopart of the native weaponry. Makingof swords involved elaborate rituals that were based mainlyon the
auspicious conjunctions of planets. The passage ofthe swordfrom the maker entaileda mysticalceremonythat wascoupled
with superstitious beliefs.[1] The lowlanders of Luzonnolonger use of the bararao, while the Moros andanimists ofthe S outh
still continue the traditionof making kampilanandkris.[1]
In addition to weaponry, the earlyFilipinos made good armor for use in the battlefield andbuilt strong fortresses calledko ta or
moog to protect their communities. The Moros, inparticular, had armor that coveredthe entire bodyfrom the topof the head
to the toes. The Igorots built forts made ofstone walls that averagedseveral meters in widthandabout two to three times the
width in height around2000 BC.[1][2]
Education and writing ; Laguna Copperplate Inscription(c. 900), a thincopperplate document measuringless than8x12 inches
in size, shows heavyHindu-Malayanculturalinfluences present in the Philippines during the 10th Century.
See also:Ancient Philippine scripts and Enrique of Malacca
EarlyFilipinos devisedandusedtheir ownsystemof writings from 300 BC, whichderivedfromthe Brahmic familyof scripts o f
Ancient India. Baybayinbecame the most widespread ofthese derived scripts bythe 11th century.
Earlychroniclers, whocame during the first Spanishexpeditions to the islands, notedthe proficiencyof some ofthe natives,
especiallythe chieftainandlocalkings, in Sanskrit, Old Javanese, OldMalay,andseveralother languages.[3][4][5]

2. Maritime culture and aquaculture;Native boats andoutriggers as depictedin The historyandconquest of the Philippines
and our other island possessions;embracingour war with the Filipinos byAldenMarch, published in1899. Caption(cropped
out) read:"Boats of the upper type were used to land the U.S. troops at Manila. One of those inwhichthe Astor Batterylanded
sankinthe surf just before reaching shore. The natives carried the menashore on their shoulders. The lower boat is a
fisherman's craft usedbythe Negritos, whoshoot fishin the clear water withbows and arrows."
EarlyFilipinos, being descendants ofthe balangay-borne Austronesian migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia,[6] were known
for their navigationalskills. Some of them used compass similar to those usedamong maritime communities of Borneoand
traders of China, althoughmost had noneedfor suchdevices. Inmodern times, some fishermenandtraders in the Visayas,
Mindanao, SuluandPalawancanstill navigate long distances over openwater without the use of modern navigational
instruments.[1]Philippine ships, suchas the karakao or korkoa were ofexcellent qualityandsome of them were usedbythe
Spaniards inexpeditions against rebellious tribes andDutch and British forces. Some of the larger rowed vesselsheld upto a
hundred rowers on each side besidesa contingent of armed troops.[4] Generally, the larger vesselsheldat least one lantaka at
the front of the vesselor another one placed at the stern.[1]Philippine sailing ships called praos had double sails th at seemed
to rise wellover a hundredfeet from the surface of the water. Despite their large size, these ships haddouble outriggers. Some
of the larger sailing ships, however, did not have outriggers.
Communities ofancient Philippines were active ininternational trade, andtheyused the ocean as natural highways.[4]Early
Filipinos were engagedin long-range trading withtheir Asianneighbors as far as west as Maldives andas far as northas
Japan.[1]Some historians evenproposed that theyalsohadregular contacts withthe peopleof Western Micronesia because it
was the onlyarea in the Oceania that hadrice crops, tuba (fermentedcoconut sap), and traditionof betelnut chewing when
the first Europeans arrivedthere. The uncannyresemblance ofcomplex bodytattoos among the Visayans and those ofBorneo
also proved some interestingconnection between Borneoandancient Philippines.[1] Magellan's chronicler, AntonioPigafetta,
mentioned that merchants andambassadors fromallsurroundingareascametopay tribute to the kingof Sugbu(Cebu) for the
purpose of trade. While Magellan's crew were with the king, a representative from Siam was paying tribute to the king.[1]
Miguel López de Legazpi alsowrote how merchants from LuzonandMindoro had come to Cebu for trade, andhe also
mentioned how the Chinese merchants regularlycame to Luzon for the same purpose.[1] The Visayan Islands hadearlier
encounter withthe Greek traders in21 AD.[7] Its people enjoyed extensive trade contacts withother cultures. Indians,
Japanese, Arabs, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thais, Malays andIndonesians as traders or immigrants.[8][9]
Aside fromtrade relations, the natives were alsoinvolvedin aquaculture andfishing. The natives make use of the salambao,
which is a type of raft that utilizes a large fishing net which is lowered intothe water via a type oflever made of twocriss-
crossedpoles. Night fishing was accomplished withthe helpof candlesmade from a particular type of resinsimilar to the co pal
of Mexico. Use of safe pens for incubationand protection ofthe small fryfrom predators wasalso observed, andthis method
astonishedthe Spaniards at that time.[1]During fishing, large mesh nets were alsousedbythe natives to protect the young and
ensure future goodcatches.
Mining and jewelry making; Mininginthe Philippines began around1000 BC. The earlyFilipinos workedvarious mines of
gold, silver, copper and iron. Jewels, goldingots, chains, calombigas and earrings were handeddownfrom antiquityand
inherited from their ancestors. Golddagger handles, golddishes, toothplating, andhuge gold ornamets were also used.[1] In
LaszloLegeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines GoldArt", he mentionedthat goldjewelryof Philippine originwas
found in Ancient Egypt.[1]According to AntonioPigafetta, the people of Mindoropossessed great skill in mixing gold withother
metals andgave it a natural andperfect appearance that could deceive eventhe best of silversmiths.[1] The natives were also
known for the jewelriesmade ofother precious stones suchas carnelian, agate andpearl. Some outstanding examples of
Philippine jewelryincludednecklaces, belts, armlets andrings placed around the waist.
Pottery;The ancient Philippines hada veryrich traditionof potteryas verifiedbythe finds at Ayub Cave inSouthCotabatoand
other parts of the islands. Japanese texts mentionedtrading expeditions to the islandof Rusun(Luzon)for the highly-prized
RusunandNambanjars occurred. Japanese texts were veryspecific about these jars being made inLuzon. The Tokiko, for
example, callsthe RusunandNambanjars, Ru-suntsukuruor Lu-sung ch'i (inChinese), which means simply"made in Luzon."[1]
These Rusun jars, which had rokuru(wheel mark), were saidto be more precious thangoldbecause of its abilityto act as tea
canisters and enhance the fermentation process.[1]