What are the oldest known artworks in the Philippines?

At the border of Angono and Binangonan in Rizal province, one will find the oldest known artworks in the Philippines: the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs.

According to the "Kuya Kim Ano Na?" segment in "24 Oras," Tuesday, the petroglyphs carved on the rock shelter date back to 3,000 BC or about five thousand years ago. The petroglyphs were discovered by the late National Artist for Painting Carlos "Botong" Francisco, and featured a total of 179 carvings of zoomorphic and geometric figures.

Anthropologist Dr. Chester Cabalza said that the petroglyphs give evidence to the intelligence of our ancestors.

"Mayaman sa kultura ang ating mga ninuno," he said. "Malinaw na ang ating mga ninuno ay matatalino."

Francisco discovered the unusual engravings in 1965, which he reported to the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), according to the NMP. In the same year, Professor Alfredo Evangelista, former assistant director of the museum, carried out the first excavation at the site.

In 2016, Dr. Andrea Jalandoni of Griffith University, Australia, visited the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs to document the rock art and create a three-dimensional model of these. She categorized the engravings into two phases. The first phase, the NMP said, comprised "geometric figures and 'vulva' forms," while the more recent second phase comprised anthropomorphic figures, some of which were "complete with fingers, toes, head covering, and female genitalia."

Aside from the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs, there are also other rock art sites that can be found in the Philippines, including the ancient rock art on the cave walls in Peñablanca, Cagayan. These anthropomorphic pictograms are estimated to be between 3,570 and 3,460 years Before Present, according to the NMP.

Recently, a research article published on the Nature journal, established a cave art found in Indonesia as the world's oldest known rock art. The narrative cave painting is believed to be at least 51,200 years old and was discovered in Leang Karampuang Cave on the island of Sulawesi.

The painting "depicts human-like figures interacting with a pig, [and] is now the earliest known surviving example of representational art, and visual storytelling, in the world," the study said.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News