Location: Kabayan, Rizal Province Map
Created: Ibaloi tribe
The Angono petroglyphs are rock carvings from the late Philippine
Neolithic, no later than 2000 BC. BC, at Angono, on the island of
Luzon in the Philippines; they represent 127 stylized human and
animal figures. It is the oldest known work of prehistoric art in
the Philippines.
The site appears on the tentative list of
UNESCO world heritage, on the list of the world inventory of rock
art in 1985 and since 1996 it has been part of the historic sites of
the World Monuments Watch (World Monuments Watch ) and the World
Monuments Fund. It was declared a national cultural treasure by the
National Museum of the Philippines in 1973. According to
archaeologist John Miksic, the authenticity of the site may have
been disputed; according to UNESCO however, this authenticity is
well established.
The rock shelter is located on a hill southeast of Manila City, Rizal
Province, three kilometers from Angono City and 235 meters above sea
level.
The cave was formed in volcanic soil — a tuff deposit
known as Guadalup Tuff8. It is shallow. Its width is 63 meters, its
depth is 8 meters, its maximum height is 5 meters. It was formed at the
end of the Pleistocene, at the beginning of the Holocene.
The
existence of the rock shelter was reported in 1965 by National Artist of
the Philippines Botong Francisco
The 127 petroglyphs occupy an area of the rock wall measuring 25
meters, with a height of 3 meters. They mostly draw a figure with a
rounded head on a narrow neck, a rectangular body composed of a lower
cone (the torso is “V” shaped), a flexed limb. Among the animal
representations, we can discern images of frogs and lizards. Only 51 of
the 127 drawings are distinct, erosion due to humidity having partially
deteriorated the others.
Volcanic tuff is friable enough to be
worked with a denser piece of stone. There is no indication that colors
were ever incorporated into the designs; The Angono petroglyphs differ
in this way from other examples of prehistoric art.
Due to the complexity and plurality of the drawings, it is believed
that these cave drawings were not created solely by a single individual.
In 2018, Jalandoni & Taçon hypothesized that the composition of the
petroglyphs occurred in two phases and that these carvings were created
by different cultures. During phase 1, the oldest, approximately 51
geometric shapes were drawn, including 11 vulva shapes represented as
triangles or ovals cut in half, small holes and at least one human
figure with bent elbows and knees. Phase 1 would be the work of
Australo-Melanesian (Negrito) hunter-gatherers using stone tools.
During Phase 2, the Phase 1 petroglyphs would have been modified:
limbs, heads, and torsos would have been added to the previous human
stick figures. Certain figures are then represented with horn-shaped or
rectangular headdresses; three of them are holding curved objects. Four
of the human forms have a bowling pin shape, three have an oval body,
and one has a "fish tail" for legs. Phase 2 is much newer, with much
sharper edges and lines, and may have been engraved by Austronesian
hunter-gatherers.
Modern graffiti also contaminates the site, and
it is possible that Phase 2 features figures carved by Filipino
guerrilla forces hidden in the caves during World War II.
It is assumed that the figures were drawn for healing purposes; the site would have been a dambana (a holy place favoring communication with the spirit world). They are said to have been designed as a means of transferring a child's illness to the rock wall, and thus curing the child of its ailments.
Archaeological excavations in 1965 led by Alfredo Evangelista made it possible to discover in the rock shelter, in addition to the petroglyphs, fragments of earthenware, two pieces of obsidian flakes, two chailles, stone tools on flakes, and a polished stone adze with a blunt edge. These findings suggest that the site was used towards the end of the Neolithic era; The Philippine Neolithic spans from 6000 BC to 2000 BC
Only one other set of slightly later petroglyphs, dated no
earlier than 1500 BC, was discovered in the Philippines at Alab, in
Mountain Province; these petroglyphs are engraved in rocks at the
top of promontories.
The Philippines also has two types of
pictogram sites: the black charcoal paintings of Penablanca in the
province of Cagayan and in the caves of Singnapan in Palawan; red
paintings (color from hematite) in the Anda Peninsula of Bohol
province.
The site has the status of a local division of the National Museum of
the Philippines; to promote the site, the National Museum created in
1998 a local museum presenting the cultural and artistic heritage of the
province of Rizal; its collections include remains of giant tortoises,
fossils, molars of Elephas sp, ceramics.
The preservation and
development of the Angono petroglyphs is a collective effort of the
National Museum of the Philippines, Department of Tourism, World
Monuments Fund.
It was first opened to the public in 1989, with a
green-painted iron fence and a low concrete wall separating the rock
face from spectators. An observation platform was installed by the
National Museum in 1997.