The archaeological materials of the Philippine Archipelago, despite their brightness, uniqueness and high information content, have long remained out of the field of interest of domestic archaeologists. The intensification of scientific and educational contacts between the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the mutual desire for cooperation create favorable prerequisites for the beginning of systematic study of the ancient cultures of the Philippines and joint archaeological projects. The article provides a brief overview of the main problems and key directions of archaeological search in the archipelago, discusses the issues of archaeological chronology and periodization. Special emphasis is placed on the study of the tradition of burials in vessels, its specific features are noted, and original versions are offered about similarities and differences with similar traditions in Southeast Asia and the Japanese archipelago.

Keywords: Pacific basin, Philippine Archipelago, Austronesians, periodization, chronology, vessel burials.

A. V. TABAREV ¹, D. A. IVANOVA ¹, A. E. PATRUSHEVA ²

ANCIENT CULTURES OF PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO: KEY TOPICS AND SUBJECT MATTERS

¹ Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, 17, Ak. Lavrentieva str., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

² Novosibirsk State University, 2, Pirogova str, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

Archaeological materials from the Philippine archipelago though unique, highly informative and unusual, have been for a long time out of interests of Russian archaeologists. Up to date Russian specialists have not studied Philippine topics, archaeological materials have been unknown, and publications in Russian on the ancient Philippine cultures are absent. Intensification of scientific-educational contacts among countries of the Asia-Pacific region along with mutual aspiration to the cooperation create favorable conditions for systematic studies of ancient cultures of the Philippines and joint archaeological projects. The article objective is an overview of key topics and subject matters of the archipelago archaeological exploration, and debatable issues of archaeological chronology and periodization. Pilot archaeological studies on the archipelago are connected with names of American scholars С Guthe (1893 - 1974), H. Beyer (1883 - 1966), R. Fox (1918 - 1985), W. Solheim II (1924 - 2014), and Filipino A. Evangelista. The degree of the Philippines archaeological research is extremely uneven. Traditionally the main research objects are compact territories on the largest islands Luzon, Palawan, Negros, and Mindanao, while vast areas of small islands remain a "blank spot". Nowadays archaeological periodization of the Philippines looks like that:

The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation (project N 15 - 01 - 00018 "A Time of Great Chieftains and Stone tombs: ancient cultures of the Pacific Basin at the Turn of the Eons").

Andrey Vladimirovich Tabarev-Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher, Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS, e-mail: olmec@yandex.ru.

Daria Aleksandrovna Ivanova-Laboratory researcher, Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS, e-mail: nightliro@bk.ru.

Anna E. Patrusheva-student, Novosibirsk State University, e-mail: patrusheva.ann@yandex.ru.

Andrey V. Tabarev - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS.

Darya A. Ivanova - Research fellow, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS.

Anna E. Patrusheva - Student, Novosibirsk State University.

- 67-11,000 BP-Paleolithic;

- 11 - 4,000 ВР - "Preceramic period" or "Early Holocene period";

- 4 - 2,000 BP - Neolithic;

- 0 - 900/1,000 AD - "Metal period";

- 1,000 - 1,500 AD - "Tradeware ceramics period"

The tradition of secondary "Jar burials" ("Urn burials") in ceramic vessels is one of the most spectacular archaeological complexes. In the archaeological literature discussions on the origin and evolution of "Jar burials" on the Philippines is traditionally connected with the culture on the territories of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It seems to us that the "Japanese vector" deserves no less attention.

Key words: Pacific basin, Philippine archipelago, Austronesians, periodization, chronology, jar burials.

The Philippine archipelago (more than 7600 islands, an area of about 300 thousand ^km2) is an interesting one. from the point of view of cultural genesis, the Pacific Basin region. Despite the tropical geographical location of the archipelago, archaeological materials indicate its initially close ties with the ancient cultures of the Far East, Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is enough to mention, for example, the recent discoveries of Homo sapiens remains in the Callao Cave (67 thousand years AGO) on Luzon Island and in the Tabon Cave (47 thousand years ago) on Palawan Island (Figure 1), as well as the important role that the archipelago played at the initial stage of settlement of Austronesians and migration of carriers of the Lapita ceramic tradition from the o district. Taiwan to Polynesia about 4 thousand years AGO [1; 2].

However, until recently, Russian archaeologists did not study the archaeological materials of the archipelago, and there are no publications on the ancient cultures of the Philippines in Russian.¹ The situation began to change only in recent years - with participation in international conferences in the Philippines [4], establishing direct contacts with colleagues from leading scientific institutions (University of the Philippines, National Museum of the Philippines), and mutual desire for cooperation and information exchange. The exceptionally favorable background of relations between our two countries creates prerequisites for the beginning of a systematic study of the ancient cultures of the Philippines and the implementation of joint archaeological projects. This article focuses on key themes and issues in Philippine archaeology and is a first step in this direction.

Pioneering archaeological research in the archipelago is associated with the names of American specialists Carl Guti (1893-1974), Henry Beyer (1883 - 1966), Robert Fox (1918 - 1985), William Solheim II (1924 - 2014) and the Filipino Alfredo Evangelista (1926 - 2008). They are also the founders of local "archaeological schools" and research centers, as well as developers of original schemes for the development of ancient cultures of the Philippines [5; 6].

The degree of archaeological exploration of the Philippines is extremely uneven. Traditionally, the main objects of research are compact areas on the largest islands-Luzon, Palawan, Negros and Mindanao, while vast areas of smaller islands remain a "white spot". This situation is also reflected in the preliminary nature of chronology and periodization. Thus, the period from the most ancient Homo sapiens finds in the Callao and Tabon caves to the end of the Pleistocene (about 11 thousand years AGO) is defined as the "Paleolithic", which generally corresponds to the concept of "Upper Paleolithic" for most regions of Eurasia. The period from 11 to 4 thousand years AGO is called "Early Holocene" or "pre-ceramic", it is represented by a small number of monuments, and no "cultures" or "traditions"are yet distinguished within its framework. The earliest finds of ceramic tableware are sacred.-

1. Philippine Archipelago. Monuments mentioned in the text.

1-Tabon, Palawan Island; 2-Callao, Luzon Island.

¹ An exception is chapter 1 ("The Philippines in Ancient Times") in Yu.O. Levtonova's book on the history of the Philippines [3].

2. Burial vessel "Manungul".

1-general view (photo from the authors ' archive); 2-drawing of a sculptural composition on the lid.

The period from 4 to 2 thousand years AGO is referred to as the "Neolithic" in scientific publications. Compared to the neighboring territories of China, Japan and Taiwan, where the Neolithic period spans from 6 to 12 thousand years, such a short period (in 2 thousand years) it can reflect either the specifics of the island world of the Pacific basin, or an insufficient degree of study.

The period from the turn of the eons to the IX-X centuries AD also has several names, of which the most common is the "metal period" - the appearance of imported, and then local products made of bronze, iron and gold. It is followed by the period (X-XVI centuries), which is documented by numerous finds of imported ceramics and porcelain and is characterized by the development of active trade contacts. It is called the "period of ceramic trade".

Among the most spectacular archaeological complexes with local characteristics and at the same time being part of a large range of cultures of the continental, coastal and island territories of East (Korea, China, Japan) and South-East (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos) Asia, the tradition of secondary burials in ceramic vessels ("funeral urns") is noteworthy). Its earliest manifestations in the Philippines date back to the beginning and middle of the first millennium BC.e. Individual burials, groups of several vessels, and even entire necropolises ("burial fields") are recorded, where vessels with the remains of adults and children are arranged in rows and rings. They are found within settlements, near settlements, and in special sacred places such as grottoes, caves, and gorges. Vessels vary widely in shape, size, and ornamentation.

A special place in the general array is occupied by vessels of anthropomorphic forms, emphasizing the ritual character of the products. Among the funerary urns there are large specimens (with a height of up to 1 m or more), with unique coloring and decoration. According to experts, they belong to representatives of the tribal elite and reflect the strengthening of the process of social stratification in the transition from an appropriating economy to a producing one [7; 8].

The most striking example in this series is the unique vessel "Manungul" (Fig. 2), found in one of the caves of the Tabon complex (Palawan Island) back in the 1960s and now stored in the National Museum of the Philippines ². Its height is 66 cm, its maximum width is 51 cm, and the lid of the vessel is crowned with a sculptural composition depicting two dead people who travel to the world of the dead on a ritual boat [9. p. 12-14].

In the discussion, archaeologists traditionally associate the emergence and development of the practice of burials in ceramic vessels in the Philippine archipelago with Southeast Asia, with cultures in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It seems to us that the "Japanese vector" deserves no less attention. First, the tradition of burials in vessels (initially mostly for children) originated in the Japanese archipelago much earlier - at least in the early Jomon period, about 6.5 thousand years AGO [10]. Secondly, it extends from the north (Honshu Island) to the south (Kyushu Island), where by the end of the Late Jomon period (3 thousand BC), it becomes the dominant variant of the funeral rite. And, thirdly, it is the burials in vessels on Kyushu Island that are typologically closest to the Philippine ones. This is reflected in the use of so-called "composite urns "(consisting of two vessels), and in the different orientation of the vessels (vertically, horizontally, at an angle, in an inverted position), as well as in the appearance of large necropolises. As an example, we can give statistics on the monuments of Tarozako (41 vessels), Nakado (38 vessels) and Kogabaru (34 vessels).

All this once again confirms that the ancient cultures of the Philippine archipelago were formed under the influence of a number of impulses from various regions of East and Southeast Asia, and their study involves referring to the archaeological materials of vast coastal and island parts of the Pacific basin.

² Has the status of a national treasure.

The authors express their sincere gratitude to their Filipino colleagues, Professors V. Paz and R. Kreuzer (University of the Philippines), as well as Professor N. Cuevas (National Museum, Manila), for their advice and literature on the subjects of this work.

list of literature

1. Paz V. The Philippines // The Cambridge World Prehistory. V. 1 Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2014. P. 521 - 533.

2. Hung H., Carson M.I, Bellwood P., Campos F.Z., Piper P.J., Dizon E., Bolunia M.J., Oxenham M., Chi Z. The First Settlement of Remote Oceania: the Philippines to the Marianas // Antiquity. 2011. Vol. 85. P. 909 - 926.

3. Levtonova Yu. O. Istoriya Filippin [History of the Philippines]. Kratkiy ocherk, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1979, 296 p. (in Russian)

4. Tabarev A.V., Popov A.N., Zaletova E.N. Life and Afterlife on the Coast: Burial Practices During the Neolithic - Early Iron Age in the Maritime Region, Russian Far East // For the Love of Death: Human Osteoarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Abstracts. Diliman: University of the Philippines, 2016. P. 23.

5. Ronquillo W.P. Archaeological Research in the Philippines, 1951 - 1983 // Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 1985. Vol. 6. P. 74 - 88.

6. Solheim W. G. II. Philippine Archaeology // Archaeology. 1953. Vol. 6. P. 154 - 158.

7. Solheim W.G. II. Jar Burial in the Babuyan and Batanes Islands and in Central Philippines, and Its Relationship to Jar Burial Elsewhere in the Far East // Philippine Journal of Science. 1961. Vol. 89, N. 1. P. 115 - 148.

8. Harisson T. Early "Jar Burials" In Borneo and Elsewhere // Asian Perspectives. 1974. Vol. XVII, N. 2. P. 141 - 144.

9. Fox R.B. The Tabon Cave: Archaeological Explorations and Excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila: National Museum, 1970. 197 p.

10. Ivanova D. A., Popov A. N., Tabarev A.V. Secondary burials in clay vessels in the Dzemon culture on the territory of Northern Japan. Vestnik NGU Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya. 2013. Vol. 12, issue no. 5: Archeology and Ethnography, pp. 146-156.

REFERENCES

1. Paz V. The Philippines. The Cambridge World Prehistory. Vol. 1. Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014, pp. 21 - 533.

2. Hung H., Carson M.T., Bellwood P., Campos F.Z., Piper P.J., Dizon E., Bolunia M.J., Oxenham M., Chi Z. The first settlement of remote Oceania: the Philippines to the Marianas. Antiquity. 2011, vol. 85, pp. 909 - 926.

3. Levtonova O.Yu. History of the Philippines. A brief essay. Moscow: Nauka, 1979, 296 p. (In Russ.)

4. Tabarev A. V., Popov A.N., Zaletova E.N. Life and afterlife on the coast: burial practices during the Neolithic - Early Iron Age in the maritime region, Russian Far East. For the love of death: human osteoarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: abstr. Diliman: Univ. of Philippines, 2016, p. 23.

5. Ronquillo W.P. Archaeological research in the Philippines, 1951 - 1983. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 1985, vol. 6, pp.74 - 88.

6. Solheim W.G.(II). Philippine Archaeology. Archaeology. 1953, vol. 6, pp. 154 - 158.

7. Solheim W.G. (II). Jar Burial in the Babuyan and Batanes Islands and in central Philippines, and its relationship to jar burial elsewhere in the Far East. Philippine Journal of Science. 1961, vol. 89, no. 1, pp. 115 - 148.

8. Harisson T. Early "jar burials" in Borneo and elsewhere. Asian Perspectives. 1974, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 141 - 144.

9. Fox R.B. The Tabon cave: archaeological explorations and excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila: National Museum, 1970, 197 p.

10. Ivanovo D.A., Popov A.N., Tabarev A. V. Secondary burials in clay vessels in jomon culture on the territory of northern Japan. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya,

filologiya. 2013, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 146 - 156. (In Russ.)

The article was accepted by the editorial board on 10.03.2017

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