Early Philippine Architecture There Is No Such Thing As a Culture Untouched by Other Cultures
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Chapter One: Early Philippine Architecture There is no such thing as a culture untouched by other cultures. There is no such thing as a pure Filipino culture or architecture. Architecture as a response to nature: ‐ Wind, rain, fire: new territory ‐ Planting and domestication of animals: source of food/survival ‐ Urban settlements were often found along shorelines ‐ Fibroconstructive technology: tools were from fiber which were readily accessible ‐ Homo‐faber: man as hunter and gatherer First recorded history (1521): ‐ Otley‐Bayer waves of migration theory ‐ Land bridges (disproved by a German) ‐ Austronesian expansion o Based on linguistics: the more synonyms for one word, the older the language . “rumaq” (house) to “luma” (Badjao house) . “balanghay” (Austronesian boats) to “barangay” (Philippine settlements) . “balay” (Isneg, Cebuano, Malay, Fijian, Hawaiian, Samoan) . “lepaw” is “lepa” in Badjao o Austronesians were the original South East Asian settlers, sea‐ faring people o Latest/prevailing theory o Brought about water‐borne architecture (on stilts and shorelines, pitch roof with extended ridges) o Expansion reached as far West as Madagascar o Taiwan, then Philippines, then Sulawest, Eastern India, Oceania Leanto ‐ Usually used by nomads, easy to assemble and disassemble ‐ Also known as a windscreen or windbreaker ‐ Variations: o Aeta o Agta (Pinahahang) o Ebuged Agta o Mamanya (Dait‐dait) o Pinatubo Aeta (Hawong) Cave dwellings ‐ Earliest inhabitation, minimal sitework (excavation not construction) ‐ Pleistocene people: earliest cave dwellers in the Philippines ‐ Tabon cave: o Largest cave complex o People are Tau’t Bato o Southern Palawan ‐ Cave art in Angono: petroglyphs Datag ‐ Sleeping platform = one family unit ‐ May add walls or roofs Elevated oneroom huts ‐ When we decided to settle and farm ‐ Either on land (coast line) or water ‐ Multi‐level house had three levels: o Storage (attic) o Living area o Livestock or work area ‐ Long‐house: one long house with side by side rooms with a porch (typically belonged to a datu) Fortifications ‐ Tree houses o On forked trees 20, 40 to 60 feet above the ground o Misinterpreted as dwelling places by Americans o Used only when protection was needed ‐ Idjang (Only in Batanes) o Rock platform carved out o Any elevated rock platform ‐ Kota o Fence or palisade of hard wood (very high) around a settlement o Cotabato used to have a stone cota Banaue Rice Terraces ‐ Part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List ‐ May date back to 1000 BC ‐ 500‐1,600 meters high (Ifugao, Mt. Province) ‐ Walls are 6‐16 meters high ‐ Pond‐field architecture + stone engineering ‐ Parts: o TERRACE BASE o EMBANKMENT o SOLID BODY ‐ Water inlets and outlets (highly engineered) .