About the Philippines

History
Main article: History of the Philippines

Prior to 2010, the earliest known human remains found in the Philippines were those of the pre-Mongoloid Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 24,000 years ago,[16][17] In 2010, however, a metatarsal of Callao Man (possibly Negrito in physical type) discovered in 2007 was reported to have been reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago.[18] Negritos were among the archipelago's earliest inhabitants but their appearance in the Philippines has not been reliably dated.[19] They were followed by speakers of Malayo-Polynesian languages who began arriving around 4000 BCE, displacing the earlier arrivals.[20] By 1000 BCE, the inhabitants of the archipelago had developed into four kinds of social groups: hunter-gathering tribes, warrior societies, petty plutocracies, and maritime-centered harbor principalities.[21]

Trade between the maritime-oriented peoples and other Asian countries during the subsequent period brought influences from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. During this time there was no unifying political state encompassing the entire Philippine Archipelago. Instead, the islands were divided among competing thalassocracies ruled by various datus, rajahs, or sultans. Among them were the kingdoms of Maynila, Namayan, and Tondo, the rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu, and the sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu.[22][23][24][25] Some of these societies were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya, Majapahit, and Brunei.[26][27] Islam was brought to the Philippines by traders and proselytizers from Malaysia and Indonesia.[28] By the 15th century, Islam was established in the Sulu Archipelago and by 1565 had reached Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon.[29]
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