1
Republic of the Philippines
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
Don Severino de las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite
READING MATERIAL FOR STS (GNED 06)
Lecture 02: Historical Antecedents of the World
Historical Antecedents
The word antecedent refers to something that comes before, or precedes, something else.
The Human Condition Before Common Era
From the previous lecture, we’ve learned that technology doesn’t always spring from
science. Having said this, it is safe to say that technological advancements arose earlier than
scientific discoveries. These technological advancements will not be possible without early
humans who have the skills or even instinct to create. The prehistoric period or when there was
human life before records documented human activity roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago
to 1,200 B.C. It is generally categorized into three archaeological periods: the stone age, the
bronze age, and the iron age.
“The primal need to survive paved the way for the invention of several developments.”
It is the instinct of early humans to survive that allowed them to create several types of
technologies. They have a fire for cooking, tools for hunting, and even used stones for cave
drawings that record their daily life and activities or illustrate what they observe in nature. It is
true that it is difficult to exactly pinpoint where technology is said to have started, but we consider
the discovery of harnessing fire from chipping stones that marked the advent of technology.
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I.
THE STONE AGE
This era, which started at the beginning of human existence until about 3,000 BCE, is
marked by the invention and use of stone tools by our early human ancestors and the eventual
transformation of the society from a culture of hunting and gathering to farming and food
production. This period is practically difficult for our ancestors because resources are not
abundant, and they are also living in the midst of wild animals making them easy targets/prey. We
know relatively little about this era because there are limited to no written accounts of the human
activities that occurred here. Only cave drawings and unearthed artifacts (such as stone tools, and
bone tools) are available for us to study, leaving us with little capacity to contemplate.
Archaeologists have found Stone Age tools 25,000-50,000-year-old all over the world. The most
common are daggers and spear points for hunting, hand axes and choppers for cutting up meat,
and scrapers for cleaning animal hides. Other tools were used to dig roots, peel bark and remove
the skins of animals. Later, splinters of bones were used as needles and fishhooks. A very important
tool for early man was flakes struck from flint. They could cut deeply into a big game for
butchering. The Stone Age is divided into three separate periods – Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and
Neolithic period – based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of stone tools.
o PALEOLITHIC PERIOD
Throughout the Paleolithic, humans were food gatherers/hunters, depending on hunting
wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits, nuts, and berries. They are nomads with
no permanent shelters. The record of this long interval is very incomplete; it can be studied from
imperishable objects made of flint, stone, bone, and antler. There are notable tools and ornaments
created by our forerunners during this old stone period. First, we have the “Venus”, a carving of
a voluptuous woman out of ivory stone. It is not definite what this carving meant to the early
humans, but historians infer that this is an ancient representation of beauty while for some, a
penchant for fertility. The Paleolithic people are credited with inventing the needle for sewing.
Their needles even had eyes to put the ''thread'' through! Some needles were large, and probably
used animal tendons or leather to stitch clothes with, but some were much smaller and probably
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used horsehair thread. Fur clothing was also made from the fur of the animals they hunted, as well
as leather from animal skin and linen from flax. They also invented pit houses and temporary
shelters that they can bring with them and reassemble to a new location. Likewise, personal
ornaments and crude (not polished) hunting tools made of stone were invented during this time.
Paleolithic people also invented containers like pottery and baskets, which they used for
gathering and storing various liquid and dry goods, to keep them from spoiling.
o MESOLITHIC PERIOD
This period marked the end of the last Ice Age, which resulted in the extinction of many
large mammals and rising sea levels, and climate change that eventually caused the man to migrate.
Humans used small stone tools (microliths), now also more polished and sometimes crafted with
points and attached to antlers, bone, or wood to serve as spears and arrows. This tool was also
used for digging the ground and stitching clothes. They often lived nomadically in camps near
rivers and other bodies of water. Agriculture was introduced during this time, which led to more
permanent settlements in villages. Some Mesolithic settlements were villages of huts and walled
cities.
o NEOLITHIC PERIOD
Finally, during the Neolithic period, ancient humans switched from hunter/gatherer
mode to agriculture and food production. With the development of agriculture, technology, and
the inventions of more sophisticated tools, people of the Neolithic Era were able to build
permanent shelters. This gave them the ability to grow crops in the surrounding area. They
domesticated animals and cultivated cereal grains. People started to develop their control over fire,
which allowed for different uses soon after this. They used polished hand axes for plowing and
tilling the land and started to settle in the plains. Advancements were made not only in tools but
also in farming, home construction, and art, including pottery, sewing, and weaving using the
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loom, allowing them to begin making textiles and clothing with the materials they harvested from
nature and their livestock.
II.
THE BRONZE AGE
As bronze, a copper and tin alloy, was discovered during the Bronze Age, improvements
in metallurgy and workmanship were created. 88 percent copper and 12 percent tin make up
bronze. Smelting is the process used to recover metals from ores, which are naturally occurring
solid materials from which precious minerals can be extracted. The tougher metal bronze
supplanted its stone predecessors and is now used for weapons and tools. It also sparked
innovations like the wheel and the ox-drawn bronze plow. With the development of irrigation—
the practice of using man-made canals and ditches to divert water from natural sources or
floodplains to fields for crops or to reservoir lakes for use at a later time—as well as the field
system, in which crops were rotated across several fields to replenish soil nutrients—the Bronze
Age fundamentally altered farming practices.
The first soap in human history was created during the Bronze Age, according to historical
documents. The 2800 B.C. Babylonian earth tablet contains a soap equation. At that time, cassia
oil, water, and soluble base, sometimes known as alkali, were the three main components of soap.
The Bronze Age saw the emergence of organized government, law, and warfare as
well as the beginnings of religion. To commemorate their deceased pharaohs, the ancient
Egyptians constructed their pyramids during this time. Also, from this time period come the oldest
written records, such as Egyptian hieroglyphs and petroglyphs (rock engravings). It was also
characterized by the emergence of nations or kingdoms—vast communities united under a
single, powerful administration.
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III.
IRON AGE
Depending on the area, the Iron Age lasted roughly from 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. People
across a large portion of Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa started producing tools and weapons
out of iron and steel at this time. In the South Caucasus, iron was first smelted from ore (a region
presently occupied by Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan). Iron extraction from ores was made
possible by the improvement of smelting equipment, which allowed for the production of greater
temperatures. Smelting iron, a metal that is harder than copper and tin, needs a more laborintensive procedure. Iron was valued more highly in this period than gold. Agriculture is now much
simpler than it was previously since better, stronger, and more dependable agricultural implements
have been invented. The Bronze Age saw the development of gold and silver weights, but the first
coins—imprinted metal objects used for trade—appear to have appeared in the Iron Age, around
600 B.C. in Lydia, a state in modern-day Turkey's Anatolia peninsula. These coins, which featured
lion-themed imprints and were identical in weight and purity, may have been used as money
because of their imprints. The early historical period began as agriculture, art, and religion all
advanced, and writing systems and written records, including alphabets, started to appear.
THE MIDDLE AGES
The Middle Ages, commonly referred to as the Medieval Period, began with the fall
of the Roman Empire and continued for a thousand years until 1450. Due to the conquest of the
major civilizations of Rome and Greece, the early Middle Ages are known as the Dark Ages. The
Middle Ages saw extreme hardship throughout Europe. Very few people had reading and writing
skills. Their ignorance frequently resulted in superstitious notions. There was no chance for their
situation to get better because they believed fate dictated how they lived. The soldiers of the Roman
Empire guarded the underprivileged during that time. They looked to the lords to maintain order
and act on their behalf when the empire fell because there were no laws to protect them. The start
of feudalism was prompted by this readiness to submit to the lords' control. Some peasants were
free, but the majority became lords' serfs. This implied that they were beholden to the lord's
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property and paid him a hefty rent sum. In exchange for military protection, the peasants must
farm the fields of their lords and provide them with labor, tribute, and a portion of the harvest.
The Middle Ages were a time of enormous advancement in science and invention
despite a pervasive fear of death. The horse collar, which pulls on the horse's shoulders to enable
it to plow and carry wagons, the watermill, which rotates and produces electricity from that
movement, the magnetic compass, which gives European mariners and conquistadors direction,
and, of course, the clock was some of the most notable inventions made by Europeans during this
time. Around 1300 AD, the verge escapement was developed, which resulted in the first
mechanical clocks, which quickly rose to prominence as the era's primary means of timekeeping.
During the Middle Ages, the earliest industrialization took place in the production of
textiles. Wool, cotton, silk, and linen were the most popular fabrics used at this time, and every
cloth was woven by hand on a loom. The spinning wheel was introduced to Europe in the 13th
century, which was another significant breakthrough. The thread could be spun more quickly on
"The Great or Jersey" wheel, which was invented around 1350, than with the conventional
distaff, and the final Medieval technical advancement to the spinning wheel was the inclusion of
a foot treadle that powered the wheel.
o CHINA: MIDDLE AGES
China was one of the Asian nations that prospered at this time, while the economy and
overall advancement in Europe were in decline. Chinese inventors in the Middle Ages produced a
lot of beneficial inventions. The first type of seismograph to identify the existence and direction
of an earthquake is the seismoscope. Similar to Chinese papermaking, which began in 140 BC but
wasn't utilized for writing until much later (105 AD). Early applications of this paper included
clothes, wall painting, artwork, and even toilet paper. The magnetic compass came next.
Iodestone, a magnetized stone of iron, was used to create the first compasses during the Han period.
Approximately three centuries before explosive weapons first arrived in Europe,
cannon and gun powder were also invented during this period as tools for military operations.
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They also had wheelbarrows to transport heavy loads and wagons as well as carriages when they
had to travel, acupuncture, the first portable form of clay printing, and movable printing.
o INDIA: MIDDLE AGES
India also produced noteworthy innovations that continue to be useful today. They
divided the year into 12 months. They additionally created metallurgy (the science of smelting).
Ayurveda, also known as Ayurvedic medicine, was also developed during this period in India. Its
major objective is to maintain good health rather than treat diseases and is founded on the idea that
health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The notions
of square root and linear equation were also created by the brilliant brains of the Indians.
PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
Italian master navigator Christopher Columbus made four successful expeditions
across the Atlantic Ocean, paving the path for European discovery, exploitation, and colonization
of the Americas. Does it make sense to refer to Columbus as having "found" the Americas? No!
Because there were already thriving civilizations in this area of the planet before he attacked it.
The Maya, Aztec, and Inca are those people.
Instead of in modern-day New York or Texas, these civilizations flourished in the MesoAmerican region, also known as Middle America, which today stretches from central Mexico
through Central America, including the area that is now occupied by the nations of Guatemala,
Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.
o THE MAYANS
The Mayans produced exquisite ceramics, excelled in agriculture, developed
sophisticated calendars, and produced a staggering amount of symbolic art and architecture.
They created limestone pyramids to showcase their mastery of architecture. The use of cocoa
beans as currency is another interesting piece of information about the Mayans. The Mayan solar
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calendar is the most notable of these discoveries, having caused curiosity and even dread eight
years ago (2012).
o THE AZTECS
The Aztecs were yet another pre-Columbian civilization in America. They used stone
sculptures to record astronomical observations. They engaged in slash-and-burn farming,
which involves removing trees and other vegetation from forested areas and burning the leftovers
to make space for crops. The Aztecs' bizarre custom of human sacrifice is another controversial
tradition. They cut open the human sacrifices' chests with razor-sharp obsidian blades and
presented their still-beating hearts to their gods.
o THE INCAS
In contrast to the Aztecs' slash-and-burn method, the Incas used a more sophisticated
farming technique called terrace farming, similar to what the Igorots in Benguet did. Along with
retaining walls that reflected heat during the hot days but trapped it at night to prevent crops from
dying from frostbite during the extremely cold highland evenings, they also constructed irrigation
channels to offer access to stream water. It was the luxurious wool of animals like llamas and
alpacas that the Incans used to make their clothing. The Incas also discovered that a crude sort of
brain surgery might be used to save the lives of their injured soldiers. Basic anesthetics like
cocaine, tobacco, and alcohol were given throughout the procedures to ease discomfort and
minimize inflammation brought on by severe brain injuries.
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
This period of radical change in scientific thought that occurred during the 16th and 17th
centuries is known as the scientific revolution. It took the place of the Greek conception of nature,
which was more philosophical than empirical and predominated Science for about two thousand
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years. The emergence of an experimental scientific method, an emphasis on abstract reasoning,
quantitative thought, knowledge of how nature functions and the idea that nature is a machine are
all characteristics of the scientific revolution. The invention of the printing press during this time
period facilitated the quicker dissemination of fresh insights and discoveries. Scholars and
scientists publish their findings to pique curiosity and even to counter popular views at the moment.
This efficient way of communication boosted public interest in science. The scientific revolution
is very significant in the growth of humans, formulation of scientific ideas, and alteration of
society. When people come up with scientific theories, society benefits, which in turn benefits
specific people in the society, and so on. Simply take a thorough look around you and be
appreciative of the things that resulted from scientific progress.
When the three Cs—creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking—combine, they form the
traits of a scientist who shapes the concepts, findings, and innovations generated. We can all agree
with this – our science and technology will only be as good as our scientists and skilled people.
Some Intellectuals and their Great Revolutionary Ideas
▪
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish scholar, proposed
that the planets circled around the sun instead of
Earth, which was thought to be the center of the
universe in the early years when almost everyone
thought it to be so. With the development of
telescopes, it was later demonstrated to be
accurate. Even if his model wasn't entirely
accurate, it provided a solid framework for other
researchers to build upon and further mankind's
understanding of the motion of celestial bodies.
Copernicus also claimed that the seasons changed
because of slow adjustments in the Earth's axis,
which he claimed occurred every day.
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▪
JOHANNES KEPLER
The three laws of planetary motion, or the "area
law," state that (1) the planets move in elliptical
orbits with the Sun at one focus, (2) the time
required to traverse any arc of a planetary orbit is
proportional to the area of the sector between the
central body and that arc, and (3) there is an exact
relationship between the squares of the planets'
periodic times and the cubes of their orbital radii.
Johannes Kepler is now most famous for
discovering all of these. He also did important
work in optics when he provided a new and correct
account of how vision occurs; he developed a novel
explanation for the behavior of light in the newly
invented telescope he discovered several new,
semiregular
polyhedrons;
gave
the
first
mathematical treatment of close packing of equal
spheres (leading to an explanation of the shape of
the cells of a honeycomb; gave the first proof of
how logarithms worked; and devised a method of
finding the volumes of solids of revolution that can
be seen as contributing to the development of
calculus. Moreover, he calculated the most exact
astronomical
tables
hitherto
known,
whose
continued accuracy did much to establish the truth
of heliocentric astronomy.
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▪
ISAAC NEWTON
One of the most influential scientists in history, Sir
Isaac Newton contributed significantly to the field
of science over his lifetime. And while the longtold tale of an apple dropping on his learned head
is likely apocryphal, his contributions changed the
way we see and understand the world around us. In
optics, his discovery of the composition of white
light integrated the phenomena of colors into the
science of light and laid the foundation for modern
physical optics. In mechanics, his three laws of
motion, the basic principles of modern physics,
resulted in the formulation of the law of universal
gravitation. In mathematics, he was the original
discoverer of infinitesimal calculus.
▪
CHARLES DARWIN
According to Charles Darwin's classic theory of
evolution, which he fully described in his book "On
the Origin of Species," various groups of creatures
develop from a single or small number of common
ancestors through natural selection. In his book
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin made
contributions to entomology as well. He cited at
least 50 insects, including his personal discoveries
on the evolution of honey bee cell structure and the
similarities
between
British
and
Brazilian
freshwater insects.
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▪
SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who is
perhaps
most
known
as
the
founder
of
psychoanalysis with his development of talk
therapy as an approach to treating mental health
problems. Freud’s theory of personality revolved
around the three components of the mind, namely
the id, ego, and superego. The id is made up of the
unconscious psychic energy that works to satisfy
basic urges, needs, and desires. The superego is
composed of people’s internalized ideals (what is
right and what is wrong) acquired from parents and
society and works to suppress impulsive urges.
Lastly, the ego mediates the demands of the id,
superego, and reality.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution was a period of growth in the latter part of the 18th century
that resulted in the industrialization of rural, agrarian cultures in Europe and America. During this
historical period, the manufacturing of commodities shifted from modest houses and shops to big
factories. As a result, culture changed as individuals relocated from rural areas to major cities in
search of employment. Britain served as the birthplace of this movement.
GUTENBURG REVOLUTION
The first European to successfully use movable type printing was Johannes Gutenberg.
The books printed using these presses at the beginning of the Gutenberg era are called incunabula
(cradle or birthplace). The first book of any note to be printed with a movable type printer was
Gutenberg’s bible, published in 1456. Copies are still in existence up to this date. With this type
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of printer, the passing of information was made easier compared to when this printing press is still
not available. Democracy was born and the effects it had on society. It allowed people to have a
voice who wasn’t able to spread their messages before. It allowed people to read the Bible in their
own language, leaving it free for their interpretation. The printing press made literature possible
as a whole. Printed text taught people the discipline of literacy, a powerful tool used to understand
the text and basic communication. If it weren't for printed text and literacy, there would have been
no way to record such media as a hard copy.
POST-GUTENBURG REVOLUTION
The usage of computers, the internet, and other information technologies like the
World Wide Web was a defining feature of this revolution. We may now easily and conveniently
upload and download any kind of content related to everything under the sun. As a result, sharing
information is now a lot simpler than it was in the past (e.g. via printing machines). However, as
we are all aware, the cultures that adopt these technologies have a vast potential for both good and
bad outcomes.
INFORMATION AGE
Around the 1970s, the information era started, and it is still going strong now. It is
often referred to as the digital, computer, or new media era. People now live in an era where
knowledge and information are readily available. This led to a shift in society from one that had
historically been industrialized to one that was dependent on information computerization.
RISE OF THE DIGITAL AGE
After the Second World War, there was a pressing need for invention to meet the
challenge of Nazism. Out of this need came the modern computer. However, the first computer as
we know it today was created much earlier, in the 1830s, by a man by name of Charles Babbage,
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who created a device known as the analytical engine. It was a multipurpose tool that could calculate
solutions to a wide range of issues. It was used to be automated, mechanical, computerized, and
managed by movable programs to solve any calculation.
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Republic of the Philippines
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
Don Severino de las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite
READING MATERIAL FOR STS (GNED 06)
Lecture 03: Historical Antecedents in the Philippines
Historical Antecedents
The word antecedent refers to something that comes before, or precedes, something else.
Development of Science and Technology
Looking at the figure you will see that for every period within the timeline there are
words that generally describe them. These descriptions serve as the major influence that plays a
significant role in the shaping of society and consequently, advancements in science and
technology in the period.
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I.
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
The early inhabitants of the archipelago had their own culture and traditions. They had
their own belief system and indigenous knowledge system that keep them organized and sustained
their lives and communities for many years.
•
CULTURE
The early Filipinos are believers in superstition and as such, they practice animism.
Animism is the belief that various objects, places, and creatures possess distinctive spiritual
qualities, this practice is the earliest and the most primitive form of belief, associating their world
with spirits instead of deities. Said spirits are called diwata. Having believed that these spirits
accompany them in their daily lives and somehow control what occurs in their surroundings, the
early Filipinos fully rely on them and as such, would solely observe natural phenomena on the
basis of these superstitious beliefs. Unlike now that we know that when it rains it is because of the
water cycle that naturally occurs or when it rains unusually hard there is a developing low-pressure
area in a certain location, the early inhabitants of our country would associate these to the doings
of their diwatas. Having said this, we can say that these beliefs halted the early inhabitants of this
archipelago to observe natural phenomena as they are.
•
WRITING SYSTEM
The writing system. Although the Filipinos knew how to read and write in their own
system, this was mainly used for messages and letters. They seem not to have developed a written
literary tradition at that time. This would have led to a more systematic accumulation and
dissemination of knowledge (through the passing of the pieces of literature to the younger
generations), a condition that is necessary for the development of science and technology. Of
course, we know that Baybayin was the early Filipino script that they used.
•
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
The social organization that we call our communities until today is the barangay.
Barangays are a number of geographically scattered, self-sufficient, autonomous communities
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present all over the archipelago long before the Spaniards came. They were essentially subsistence
economies producing mainly what they needed with exception of those early Filipinos who are
involved in trades. In a subsistence economy, goods are produced for oneself or one’s family and
not sold to make a profit.
•
CRAFTSMANSHIP
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. These Stone Age inhabitants,
subsequently formed settlements in the major Philippine islands such as Sulu, Mindanao
(Zamboanga, and Davao), Negros, Samar, Luzon (Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and the
Cagayan region). By about 3,000 B.C., they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells and
pottery of various designs. Gradually, the early Filipinos learned to make metal tools and
implements -- copper, gold, bronze, and, later, iron. The Iron Age is considered to have lasted
from the second or third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D. Excavations of Philippine graves
and work sites have yielded iron slags. These suggest that Filipinos during this period engaged in
the actual extraction of iron from ore, smelting, and refining.
•
TRANSPORTATION
Filipinos had also learned to build boats for the coastal trade. By the tenth century A.D.,
this had become a highly developed technology. In fact, the early Spanish chroniclers took note of
the refined warship called caracoa. These boats were well suited for inter-island trade raids. By
the tenth century A.D., the inhabitants of Butuan were trading with Champa (Vietnam); those of
Ma-Yi (Mindoro) with China. Chinese records which have now been translated contain a lot of
references to the Philippines. These indicate that regular trade relations between the two countries
had been well established during the tenth to the fifteenth centuries.
•
AGRICULTURE
When it comes to agriculture, they were growing crops such as rice, cotton, and other
vegetables. They were also able to domesticate swine, goats, and fowls. Lowland rice was
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cultivated in diked fields and in the interior mountain regions as in the Cordillera, in terraced fields
that utilized spring water.
•
SETTLEMENTS
There were two groups of Filipinos based on their settlements. One is living along
coastal areas and the other resorted to mountain settlements. 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 (engaging
in agriculture, developing a system of writing, weights, and measures; wore colorful clothes and
made their own gold jewelry, houses made of wood or bamboo). On the other hand, in the interior
and mountain settlements, many Filipinos were still living as hunters. They gathered forest
products to trade with the lowland and coastal settlements.
•
PRODUCTS
Many products have been produced by Filipinos even during this period. Filipinos were
raising swine, goats, and fowls; making wine, vinegar, and salt; weaving cloth, and producing A)
beeswax and B) honey; C) growing rice, vegetables, and cotton. The Filipinos were also mining
gold in such places as Panay, Mindoro, and Bicol. The beeswax is the material the bees used to
construct the walls of their hives, this material was historically used in creating statues, bronze
preservation, and even treating burns and wounds.
•
TOOLS USED
Tools were found in the house of Raja Soliman in Manila that proved the sophistication
of the Filipinos living in the now Metro Manila. Some tools found were copper (for table display),
porcelain jars (for storage of food and other materials), iron (used in warfare called Lantaka),
and handwoven blankets.
II.
SPANISH PERIOD
The beginnings of modern science and technology in the Philippines can be
traced to the Spanish regime. The Spaniards established schools, and hospitals and started
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scientific research and these had important consequences on the rise of the country’s
professions. But the direction and pace of development of science and technology were greatly
shaped by the role of the religious orders in the conquest and colonization of the archipelago
and by economic and trade adopted by the colonial government.
•
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Various decrees were issued in Spain calling for the establishment of a school system
in the colony but these were not effectively carried out. Primary instruction during the Spanish
regime was generally taken care of by the missionaries and parish priests in the villages and towns,
as such, primary education was highly religious in nature. Higher education was provided by
schools set up by the different religious orders in the urban centers, most of them in Manila. For
example, the Jesuits founded in Cebu City the Colegio de San Ildefonso (1595) and in Manila, the
Colegio de San Ignacio (1595), the Colegio de San Jose (1601) and the Ateneo de Manila (1859).
The Dominicans had the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1640) in Manila. Access to these schools
was, however, limited to the elite of the colonial society -- the European-born and local
Spaniards, the mestizos, and a few native Filipinos. Courses leading to the B.A. degreee, Bachiller
en Artes, were given which by the nineteenth century included science subjects such as physics,
chemistry, natural history, and mathematics. On the whole, however, higher education was
pursued for the priesthood or for clerical positions in the colonial administration. It was only
during the latter part of the nineteenth century that technical/ vocational schools were established
by the Spaniards.
• REDUCCION SYSTEM
Remember that during the pre-colonial era, the barangays are scattered and autonomous
meaning that they are strictly independent of each other. Now, to organize these far-flung
barangays, the Spaniards employed this system in which barangays were organized into fewer but
larger more compact towns within the area of church bells. This only means that a certain town
will be composed of as many barangays as the sound of the church bells can reach. With this
modification, Cabezas de barangay were also appointed.
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The Cabeza de Barangay, also known as Teniente del Barrio in Spanish, was the leader
or chief of a barangay. The post was inherited from the first datus who became cabezas de barangay
when the many independent barangays became tributary vassals of the Spanish Crown. King Philip
II of Spain, after whom the Philippines was named, decreed that the native nobility of the country
should retain the honors and privileges they had before their conversion and subjection to the
Spanish Crown. From among their ranks, the head of the town, the Gobernadorcillo or Capitan
Municipal, was elected. Furthermore, only the members of their class could elect the
Gobernadorcillo.
•
FILIPINO STUDENTS WHO WERE ABLE TO STUDY IN EUROPE
Only a select Filipinos had the opportunity to study in Europe. Thanks to the affluence of their families
during the Spanish era.
Dr. Jose Rizal
He was able to specialize in Ophthalmology in Spain and
Germany.
Jose Alejandrino
He studied Engineering in Belgium. At this time, no school
or university in the Philippines offer Engineering and so
Filipinos or even Spaniards who chose to settle in the
Philippines had to go to Europe to study Engineering.
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Galicano Apacible
He was able to study Medicine in Madrid
Gen. Antonio Luna
Aside from being considered one of the fiercest military
men of his time had a chance to get a degree in Pharmacy
in Madrid.
Sadly, Filipinos in this time who were not born to influential families never got the chance to specialize abroad.
•
AGRICULTURE
The Philippines has always been an agricultural country. And so, in 1887, the Manila
School of Agriculture was created by royal decree but it was able to open only in July 1889. The
school was designed to provide theoretical and practical education for skilled farmers and
overseers and to promote agricultural development in the Philippines by means of observation,
experiment, and investigation. Agricultural stations were also established in Isabela, Ilocos,
Albay, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte and parts of Mindanao. The professors in the school were agricultural
engineers. The school was financed by the government but it appears that its direction was also
left to the priests.
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The opening of this school was not beneficial to our farmers and ultimately to our
economy. There was very little development in Philippine agriculture and industry during the first
two centuries of Spanish rule. This was largely due to the dependence of the Spanish colonizers
on the profits from the Galleon or Manila-Acapulco trade, which lasted from 1565 to 1813. It
was actually based on the trade with China which antedated Spanish rule. The galleons brought
to Latin America Chinese goods -- silk and other cloths, porcelain, and the like -- and brought back
to Manila Mexican silver. During the time, Manila prospered as the entrepot (a port, city, or another
center to which goods are brought for import and export, and for collection and distribution) of the
Orient. The Filipinos hardly benefited from the Galleon trade. Direct participation in the trade
was limited to Spanish inhabitants of Manila who were given shares of lading space in the galleons.
Many of them simply speculated on these trading rights and lived off their profits. It was the
Chinese who profited most from the trade. They acted as the trade's packers, middlemen, and
retailers and also provided services and other skills that the Spanish community in Intramuros
needed. Spanish preoccupation with the Manila Galleon eventually led to the neglect of agriculture
and mining and the decline of native handicrafts and industries in the Philippines.
III.
THE AMERICAN REGIME
Science and technology in the Philippines advanced rapidly during the American
regime. This was made possible by the simultaneous government encouragement and support
for an extensive public education system; the granting of scholarships for higher education in
science and engineering; the organization of scientific research agencies and the establishment
of science-based public services.
•
EDUCATION
Thomasites are American teachers teaching Filipino elementary students. This was
made possible by the establishment of secularized education during the American regime. All
Filipino children were given the right to education despite their economic and social status. This
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9
was a project of the Department of Public Instruction that aimed to provide free primary
education to Filipinos but utilized English as the primary mode of instruction.
The Philippine Normal School was established by the Americans and became a training
ground for Filipino teachers. A normal school is one that is created to train high school graduates
to be excellent teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence the name.
At present time, PNS is now the PNU, Philippine Normal University known to produce excellent
educators in different fields of study. So, this was how the Americans primarily established the
development of science and technology in the Philippines.
• ECONOMY
The country remained an exporter to the U.S. of various agricultural crops and
raw materials and an importer of U.S. manufactured products. We export our goods and raw
materials to the U.S. free of cost, but we did not get the chance to produce something of higher
value from our very own raw materials. Our country is endowed with abundant natural resources,
only to be traded free of tax to the United States during this time. This halted our country’s
industrialization.
•
Higher Education
The Americans were the ones who established the University of the Philippines. It
was the only publicly-supported higher education institution. And with the rise of the demand
for professional education, private education became the alternative solution. In line with this, the
Private School Act (Act No. 2076) was established recognizing the increasing number of private
schools as educational and not commercial institutions. In relation to this, the Office of Private
Education was established to look into matters of improvement of private schools’ educational
machinery.
Likewise, for the promotion of scientific research in the country, the Americans established
the NRCP or the National Research Council of the Philippine Islands in 1933. The NRCP
clustered these policies for scientific research development in the country into four:
•
Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, International Policies, and Governance
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•
•
•
Physics, Engineering and Industrial Research, Earth and Space Sciences, and Mathematics
Medical, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Biological Sciences, Agriculture, and Forestry
IV.
THE COMMONWEALTH PERIOD
The Commonwealth period marked the beginning of the country’s transformation
into a politically independent nation. This period brought about the birth of several government
corporations that are still standing up to this day.
•
National Economic Council, which is now the National Economic and Development
Authority, is an independent cabinet-level agency of the Philippine government responsible
for economic development and planning. It is the governing body that sets major
development policy directions for the country.
•
National Power Corporation is a Philippine government-owned and controlled
corporation that is mandated to provide electricity to all rural areas of the Philippines by
2025 (known as "missionary electrification"), manage water resources for power generation,
and optimize the use of other power generating assets.
•
National Abaca and other Fibers corporation, the now Philippine Fiber Industry
Development
Authority,
is
the
agency
of
the
Philippine
Department
of
Agriculture responsible for promoting the accelerated growth and development of the fiber
industry in the Philippines, such as abaca, also known as Manila hemp and cotton.
The goal of the Commonwealth period is for the Philippines to achieve economic selfreliance. But is this goal attained? The answer is no. Why? This is because foreign trade policies
are still controlled by the Americans during this time. And another reason is that Japanese troops
came into the country creating yet another chaos in our society.
V.
THE PERIOD OF INDEPENDENCE
The period since independence gave birth to learning institutions Department of
Education and Culture (now, DepEd) and the Department of Science and Technology
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(DOST). The major role of DepEd is to supervise the academic institutions under basic education
and to create policies for the welfare of Filipino students in basic education. The DOST on the
other hand was established in response to increasing demands for S&T intervention in national
development. Its main goals are as follows:
1. To meet the increasing demands for the intervention of science and technology in national
development.
2. Pursuing the local capability for technological self-reliance
3. Encouraging greater private sector participation in S & T development.
•
Existing Programs Supported by the Philippine Government
Here are the existing programs supported by the Philippine government to advance
science and technology through the Department of Science and Technology. We have funding,
scholarships, science schools, Balik Scientist Program, and a K-12 program. The funding
provides grants for basic research meant to increase our scientific knowledge base. This means
that through basic research, we are able to collect valuable information about a certain occurrence
affecting our society. Undergraduate and graduate scholarships are also being granted by the
DOST for deserving Filipino students aiming to be experts in priority fields of science and
technology in the Philippines. The DOST also supports the establishment of more branches of the
Philippine Science High School system to provide advanced quality secondary education to
Filipino students. The Balik Scientist Program contracts a science and technology expert who is a
Filipino citizen or a foreigner of Filipino descent, residing abroad to return and work in the
Philippines in his/her field of expertise. And lastly, we have the K-12 program which you guys
are products of. The main goal of this program is to provide students with sufficient time for
mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary
education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.
Lecture 03: Science Technology and Society
Carl Jershey A. Mojica, LPT