ARCHAEOLOGY

The Archaeology Division was created in April 1988 from the original section under the Anthropology Division from which all archaeological fieldworks and related activities were previously subsumed. This set-up can be traced to the establishment of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) itself by the Americans in 1901 as the “Insular Museum of Ethnology, Natural History, and Commerce” by virtue of the Philippine Commission Act No. 284. For better management of archaeological activities, the section was expanded to include 40 personnel with its own museum curator, complemented by staff ranging from senior museum researcher, museum researchers, assistant museum researchers, artist-illustrators, museum technicians and clerks. The first museum curator of the division was Mr. Wilfredo P. Ronquillo who served from 1988 until his retirement in 2013, succeeded by Dr. Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia who has been serving as officer-in-charge from 2013 to the present.

As a new division, it maintains an unwavering dedication to the objective of conducting archaeological researches in terrestrial and underwater sites (which led to the creation of the new Maritime and Underwater Division later on), with the higher goal of placing Philippine archaeological finds in the world’s scientific almanac.  From Batanes in the north all the way to the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the south, archaeological survey and excavations have been carried out and continues to be carried out to further understand Philippine culture through material remains and features.
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FEATURED COLLECTIONS
National Cultural Treasures

National Cultural Treasures, or NCTs, are highly-valued cultural properties that are indispensable in the understanding of history and culture of the Philippines. Extraordinary works that qualify as NCTs are to be preserved and protected by the state through the National Museum of the Philippines, as mandated by law.

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Earthenware

The earthenware artifacts of the National Archaeological Collection are composed of whole and fragmented pieces of low-fired pottery amassed through archaeological excavations, donations, purchase, and confiscation from different parts of the country.

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Stoneware and Porcelain

The National Archaeological Collection features stoneware and porcelain artifacts acquired over the last decades through systematic archaeological excavation, purchase, confiscation, or as donation. The collection includes whole vessels and fragmented pieces that encompass various ceramic types, forms, functions, and origins.

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Wooden Coffins

The Wooden Coffin Collection comprises the well-preserved wooden coffins recovered from Banton Island in Romblon, Masbate, Bohol, and other archaeological sites from the Protohistoric period dating around the 12th to 15th centuries.

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Burial Jars

The Burial Jar Collection contains intact and restored pottery burial vessels and other funerary containers recovered from several archaeological sites throughout the Philippines, dating to the Metal Age around 2800 to 1000 years ago.

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Fossils

Aside from artifacts, the National Archaeological Collection also includes a Fossil Collection from Paleolithic sites bearing evidence of human activity. Fossilized and subfossilized remains of humans, animals and plants from open air sites, cave sites, shell midden sites and other Late Pleistocene to Holocene sites comprise this collection.

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Tools

The Tool Collection is composed of several basic types of tools from the early periods of Philippine prehistory: Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Metal Age. This includes a variety of simple tools which were sourced and shaped from hard materials such as stone, shell, copper, and bronze.

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Ornaments

The Ornaments in the National Archaeological Collection comprises a wide range of prehistoric and historic period objects such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and other unique items that are made from various materials including shell, bone, clay, stone, glass, and metal.

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Zooarchaeological Materials

The Zooarchaeological Materials Collection of the division consists of the division consists of fossil finds and artifacts manufactured from animal remains that were either archaeologically excavated or donated. Most of the specimens in this collection were featured in publications or associated with published archeological sites.

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Zooarchaeological Reference

The Zooarchaeological Reference Collection of the Archaeology Division is composed of skeletal remains of terrestrial and aquatic animals. These materials are studied and consulted by researchers to identify and interpret fragmented faunal remains recovered from archaeological excavations. The Zooarchaeological Reference Collection is broadly categorized into two material types, namely, bones and shells.

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