Finding The Indigenous – A Study Of Locally Made Earthenware In Early Spanish Manila, The Philippines

Summary

The Spanish colonists created the first urban landscape in the Manila area during the late 16th century and certainly changed the lives of the Tagalog people. Although the ethnic-based residential policy makes it possible to compare lives of different groups in the colonial society, there are no archaeological sites representing indigenous settlements in the early colonial period to date. This paper shows that locally made earthenware found in non-indigenous settlements sheds light on the participation of the Tagalog people in the Spanish colonial project. Some of the earthenware can be traced back to pre-Spanish tradition, while others show the application of new technologies as well as the inspiration from colonial influences. A close look of the indigenous earthenware excavated from the Spanish walled city and a Chinese diaspora settlement thus demonstrates the complexity of early Spanish Manila.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017   •
• Indigenous Perspectives on Historical Archaeology of Colonialism

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 237