RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

January 16, 2017


 

RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site


Why Visit the Angono Petroglyphs

1. To see the oldest known art works in the Philippines, dating back to circa 3,000 BC.

2. "Petroglyphs are more rare in Southeast Asia where most rupestrine art is done through handprints or paintings." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/).

3. The Philippines, through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, has submitted this site in 1986 to the Tentative List in preparation for its Nomination for inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List.



How to go there:


Place the destination as Angono Binangonan and just follow the directions in your smartphone waze app. WAZE WAS VERY ACCURATE IN LEADING US DIRECTLY TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE SITE.



2. Use google maps



Below is the landmark you will see BEFORE turning right 
towards the Angono Petroglyphs tunnel as indicated in the google maps above.



A closer look at the sign above
The road going to the tunnel entrance to the Petroglyphs site

The entrance of the tunnel

Contrary to the sign, ADMISSION IS FREE.

ADMISSION RATES:

Starting July 1, 2016, all the National Museum of the Philippines and all its branches is PERMANENTLY FREE.


1. The National Museum
2. The Nartional Art Gallery
3. The Planetarium
4. Regional Museums in Angono, Padre Burgos, Kabayan, Kiangan, Magsingal, Bolinao, Palawan, Butuan, Tabaco, Cebu, Fort Pilar, Marinduque, Jolo. (List of Regional Museums)

News article on this topic: Entrance to National Museum permanently free.


PARKING:

Plenty of parking space in front of the tunnel
You can see the tunnel at the right of the photo.

THE PATH LEADING TO THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS SITE

THE TUNNEL

Inside the tunnel, it's very windy and cool.

The terrain of the tunnel

The end of the tunnel

After walking through the tunnel, you walk again through a forested path 
My tip: Make sure to bring an umbrella.
You walk along a path without shade before you reach the Museum.



This is the museum grounds.
The petroglyphs can be viewed by going up the stairs in the center of the photo.
But first, you must go to the gazebo on your left for information on the site.

THE GAZEBO

So you can properly appreciate the petroglyphs, you must visit the gazebo first to get information about the site.
The information inside the gazebo


DISCOVERY

  • The discovery was made by National Artist, Carlos "Botong"Francisco.
  • Date discovered: March 1965
  • How it was discovered: During a fieldtrip with boy scouts, he discovered the carvings on the wall while resting on a rock-shelter known to have been used by World War II guerillas.

THE ROCK ART

  • The site is a shallow rock shelter.
  • It is formed in volcanic tuffs. This means the rock is soft enough for the engravings to be made by a denser stone.
  • 127 drawings are visible.
  • 51 drawings are distinct, suggesting it was made by several individuals.


ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION

  • March 1965: The rock art was discovered.
  • October and November 1965: Archaeological excavations in the rock shelter were started.
  • What was found in the area: highly fragmented earthenware, 2 pieces of obsidian flakes, 2 pieces of chert flakes.
  • What was found outside the mouth of the rock shelter: 2 pieces of flake stone tools (a stone core tool, and a polished stone adze with a blunt stone edge)
  • Significance of the objects found in the area: The objects found suggest that the rock art was made before metal was introduced into the country during the Neolithic Age. It therefore suggests that the rock art was made prior to the Neolithic age, at least 1000 BC. 
  • NOTE: The guide we found in the area informed us that the objects are no longer found in the museum grounds. It has been brought to the National Museum in Manila.
A NATIONAL CULTURAL TREASURE
  • August 1973: Presidential Decree 260 declared the oldest known work of art, the Angono Petroglyphs, a National Cultural Treasure.
  • 1985: it was included in the World Inventory of Rock Art together with other World Famous prehistoric rock art
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

It is culturally significant because it has HISTORIC (being the oldest rock art in the Philippines), SCIENTIFIC, AESTHETIC and SOCIAL VALUE.

Photos of the excavations


THE VIEWDECK

The view deck as seen from below.

From the view deck, you can see the gazebo below.

The 2 paths going up the view deck is seen on the left and on the right.
The gazebo is shown on the right

FIRST PATH TO THE VIEW DECK
This path is best used by the eldery or persons with disability on wheelchair.

This is the flooring of the first path.

SECOND PATH TO THE VIEW DECK

This path is best used by able-bodied persons.
It's usually the path most visitors use since it's the one nearest the gazebo.

A closer view of the rough path

View from the left side of the rock shelter.

There's a guide stationed at the site who pinpoints the carvings to tourists.

View from the right side of the rock shelter







THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS

What are petroglyphs? Simply put, it's rock art or any form of engraving on rock.

The text below is taken from the description submitted by
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to UNESCO:
"These petroglyphs are of animate figures interpreted as representing juveniles or infants on a rock face in a rock shelter. The shelter is located southeast of the city of Manila, three kilometers from the town of Angono, and some 235 meters above sea level.  The shelter if formed by quaternary volcanics, located on the eastern limb of an anticline. The cave faces 305 degrees west and measures 632. 84 meters, 4.68 meters in height and 8.2 meters in depth. The cave was formed at the close of the Pleistocene, early part of the Holocene, at a period when the quaternary alluvium was not yet extensive. 
The petroglyphs occupy 25 meters of the rockwall with a height of 3.7 meters from the floor level. The engravings are executed into all the available space on the wall with no orientation nor association with one another. There are no relationships in scale and size, and no baseline.
The engravings are made on the tuff layer of the wall with "v" and "u" cross sections, depending on the sizes of the images, the largest of which is 63 centimeters. There is no attempt at making relieves. The general typology of the images is a rounded head on a narrow neck, rectangular body with a lower taper, linear flexed limb with three digits each. There is a total of 127 still discernable figures. There are non-cognitive incisions. There are 51 distinct types.
The engravings are not decorative but are symbolic representations, executed by different individuals using a single mental template, apparently with the same cultural persuasion.  Associated with healing and sympathetic magic. 
The dating of the petroglyphs is probably late Neolithic Age. Only highly fragmented low-fired pottery was recovered, a number of Paleolithic cobble and flaked tools, and Neolithic Age polished adzes. The Philippine Neolithic ranges from 6000 BC to 2000 BC." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/)


There are 127 drawings visible at the Angono Petroglyphs. 


JUST CLICK THE PHOTO TO VIEW ITS FULL SIZE
(Warning: Photo size is large so you need to wait for it to load. I couldn't compress without sacrificing the visibility of the petroglyphs.) 


You can see where they carve the drawings: on the "roof" of the rock shelter


Close-up photo of the drawings



The rightmost portion of the rock shelter is where you can find drawings of "the family".

A close-up photo of "the family". The guide said they called these drawings "the family" because it looks like a stick drawing of a male, a female and a child.

AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TOUR:
1 hour

HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday to Sunday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Note: We went on a Saturday and there were very few people visiting.

CONTACT
Angono Tourism Office: 661-3646
Official facebook page: National Museum Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

Note: Call before visiting just to make sure it's open and no maintenance activity is being conducted.  



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