A Survey of Literature on Indigenous Burial Practices and their Archeological Implications

Abstract

Indigenous peoples in the Philippines vary with regards to preparing the body, grave goods, manner and location of burial and post-burial practices. Death beliefs and practices reflect the disposition of their cultures. This survey of written records on indigenous burial practices in the Philippines was divided into four periods -- Spanish, American, post-World War II and contemporary periods. Many of these practices may no longer be examined archeologically due to the disintegration of the material. But the survey allows us to make archeological correlates -- a number of which have been substantiated by excavation sites allover the Philippines, in order to complete or correct an unfinished or misinterpreted record of our history.