The Manunggul Jar is a
secondary burial
The secondary burial (German: ''Nachbestattung'' or ''Sekundärbestattung''), or “double funeral”Duday, Henri, et al. The Archaeology of the Dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology. United Kingdom, Oxbow Books, 2009. (not to be confused with do ...
jar excavated from a
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
burial site in the Manunggul cave of the
Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point in
Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It dates from 890–710 B.C. and the two prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to the
afterlife
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
.
![Manunggul Jar displayed at Philippine National Museum of Anthropology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Manunggul_Jar_displayed_at_Philippine_National_Museum_of_Anthropology.jpg)
The Manunggul Jar is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest
Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
pre-colonial artworks ever produced and is considered a masterpiece of
Philippine ceramics
Philippine ceramics refers to ceramic art and pottery designed or produced as a form of Philippine art.
History
Traditional pot-making in certain areas of the Philippines would use clay found near the Sibalom River. Molding the clay requir ...
. It is listed as a
national treasure
The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...
and designated as item 64-MO-74
[pp. 40-41 Father Gabriel Casal & Regalado Trota Jose, Jr., Eric S. Casino, George R. Ellis, Wilhelm G. Solheim II, ''The People and Art of the Philippines'', printed by the Museum of Cultural History, UCLA (1981)] by the
National Museum of the Philippines
The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visu ...
. It is now housed at the
National Museum of Anthropology
The National Museum of Anthropology ( es, Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street withi ...
and is one of the most popular exhibits there. It is made from clay with some sand soil.
Discovery
The Manunggul Jar was found by
Robert B. Fox and Miguel Antonio in 1964. It was found alongside the remains of
a Tabon Man. It was recovered by Robert in Chamber A of Manunggul Cave in Southwestern Palawan.
[ Miksic, J.N. (2003). Earthenware in Southeast Asia: Proceedings of the Singapore Symposium on Premodern Southeast Asian Earthenwares. NUS Press.] Manunggul Cave is one of the
Tabon Caves
The Tabon Caves, dubbed as the ''Philippines' Cradle of Civilization'', are a group of caves located on Lipuun Point, north of Quezon municipality, in the south western part of the province of Palawan on Palawan Island, in the Philippines. They ...
in Lipuun Point. The Tabon Caves are known to be a site of jar burials with artifacts dating in a range from 2300 to 50 B.C. (4250-2000
BP).
Chamber A dates as a
Late Neolithic
In the archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding the Chalcolithic. It is some ...
burial site (890-710 BC).
[National Museum of the Philippines. (2014). Manunggul Jar. Retrieved November 20, 2015 fro]
National Museum, Manunggul jar
Seventy-eight jars and earthenwares, including the Manunggul Jar, were discovered on the subsurface and surface of Chamber A. Each
artifact varied in design and form but was evidently a type of funerary
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
.
First excavation and response to discovery
The first ever excavation that discovered this burial jar was in the year 1964 by Dr. Robert Fox. During that time, he and his team were excavating the Tabon Cave Complex, specifically in the Lipuun Point. Fox’s excavation was most unusual in many ways.
[Chua, M. (1995, April 27). The Arts of the Philippines. Retrieved November 22, 2015, fro]
The manunggul jar as a vessel of history
/ref>
The inside of the jar contained human bones which were covered in red paint. Like Egyptian burial practices, the jar also had numerous bracelets.
“... is perhaps unrivaled in Southeast Asia, the work of an artist and a master potter.” — These words were said by Robert Fox when asked as to how he would describe the jar’s origin, based from its appearance.
Design of the Jar
The Manunggul Jar shows that the Filipinos
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...
' maritime culture is paramount that it reflected its ancestors' religious beliefs. Many epics around the Philippines would tell how souls go to the next life, aboard boats, pass through the rivers and seas. This belief is connected with the Austronesian belief of the anito
''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associati ...
. The fine lines and intricate designs of the Manunggul Jar reflect the artistry of early Filipinos. These designs are proof of the Filipinos' common heritage from the Austronesian-speaking ancestors despite the diversity of the cultures of the Filipinos. The upper part of the Manunggul jar, as well as the cover, is carved with curvilinear scroll designs (reminiscent of waves on the sea) which are painted with hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
.
Early Filipinos believed that a man is composed of a body, a life force called ginhawa, and a kaluluwa. This explains why the design of the cover of the Manunggul Jar features three faces - the soul, the boatman, and the boat itself. On the faces of the figures and on the prow of the boat are eyes and mouth[ rendered in the same style as other artifacts of ]Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
of that period. The two human figures in a boat represent a voyage to the afterlife. The boatman is holding a steering paddle while the one on his front shows hands crossed on his chest. The steersman's oar is missing its paddle, as is the mast in the center of the boat, against which the steersman would have braced his feet. The manner in which the hands of the front figure are folded across the chest is a widespread practice in the Philippines when arranging the corpse.
The lid of the Manunggul Jar provides a clear example of a cultural link between the archeological past and the ethnographic present. It also signifies the belief of ancient Filipinos in life after death.
Jar burial
The practice of jar burial is an instance of secondary burial
The secondary burial (German: ''Nachbestattung'' or ''Sekundärbestattung''), or “double funeral”Duday, Henri, et al. The Archaeology of the Dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology. United Kingdom, Oxbow Books, 2009. (not to be confused with do ...
, in which only the bones of the deceased are reburied. The jar itself was not interred.
See also
*Tapayan
''Tapayan'' or ''tempayan'' (also known as ''balanga'', ''belanga'', or ''banga'') are large wide-mouthed earthenware or stoneware jars found in various Austronesian people, Austronesian cultures in island Southeast Asia. Their various functions ...
References
External links
*
{{National Museum of the Philippines
9th-century BC works
8th-century BC works
1964 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological discoveries in the Philippines
Collections of the National Museum of the Philippines
National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines
Philippine pottery
Late Neolithic