The prehistory of Manila covers the Pleistocene epoch along with the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Metal ages. It also includes the age of contact with other countries like China, and ends with the period of the Kingdom of Maynila.
Manila is the present-day capital of the Philippines and is the second largest city in the country. It is situated at 14. 5833˚ N, 120.9667 ˚ E. It belongs to the list of cities worldwide with the highest population density of 42,858 per square kilometer.2013 Census of Population and Housing: National Capital Region
Etymology of Manila
City named after the plant The term “Maynila” was said to be coined after the Yamstick Mangrove (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea) or Nilad in local name. Nilad is a peculiar, stalky rice-like plant with flowers of bright white and yellow that was said to be abundant in the ancient kingdom.
Delgado (1982) records in his Historia General that shrubs of the Yamstick Mangrove, or Nilad, were abundant along the banks of the river where the city (which was a kingdom before) was established. The city Maynilad was said to be named after this plant, which means "there is Nilad".
According to Philippine folklore, when the Walled City (popularly known as Intramuros) was newly built, this peculiar plant proliferated in the delta of the Pasig River and Manila Bay. Back then, the Pasig River was clean enough for people to use for daily activities.
The local population came to regard the plant for its long, soft branches which swayed gently in the breezes which came in from the bay. According to folklore, the arm-like figure of the plant welcomes visitors or bids them farewell from along the riverbanks and seashore, and the land became noted by visitors for this peculiarity.
Inhabitants and visitors were said to come to the riverbank to pick the flower. Nilad was made into garlands or laces that were offered to religious altars and soon became products distributed to other places.
As the story went on, two Spaniards came and asked where the flowers came from. The woman who was at loss of the place where exactly the flowers are located answered vaguely, ‘Sa may mga Nilad’ (where the Nilads are). The native as well as foreigners began addressing the place ‘Sa may Nilad’ since then. Soon, people, be it the natives, the conquerors or visitors, came to know the area as ‘Sa Maynila.’
There are some argument among historians as to whether the plant was actually called "nila" or "nilad." Historians Ambeth Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil assert that nila is popularly referred to as nilad by people unfamiliar with the plant. On his Facebook page, Ocampo notes that "Some idiot added a 'd' to give us: Maynilad, Maharnilad, and Lagusnilad! In Fr. Blanco's Flora de Filipinas circa 1877 we find the ixora manila. There is no "d" after nila."Peralta, Jesus T., and Lucila A. Salazar. Pre-Spanish Manila: A Reconstruction of the Pre-History of Manila. Manila: National Historical Commission. 1974. Print.
A number of early sources disagree, however, noting that the plant referred to as "nilad" is the Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria), a different plant altogether. Emma Helen Blair, in the multi-volume collection of Philippine documents The Philippine Islands, notes "The name Manila is derived from a Tagal word, ' Manilad ''', meaning 'a place overgrown with Nilad' which is the name of a small tree, bearing white flowers.
Julio Nakpil asserted that the dropping of the "d" at the end of the name was probably a mistake on the part of the Spaniards: "Maynilad seems to us reasonable for the following reason: the prefix 'may' means "to have" or "there is" (mayroon); and the prefix 'ma' means abundant (marami); and 'nilad' is a shrub, also called sagasa, growing profusely on the banks of Manila, and for that reason it was called Manilad before and after the coming of the Spaniards who, because of their defective pronunciation of our language, dropped the last letter, converting it into Manila."
Baybayin, the dominant precolonial writing system in the area, was also unable to transcribe ending consonants. This meant that spoken "Maynilad" (a place with "nilad") and "Manilad" (a place abundant with "nilad") will both be transcribed as "Manila" in the script, which may affect direct transcription in other languages.
City named after location On the other hand, Alexander Salt suggested in his Introduction to the History of Manila that the city got its name from its location on the tongue of the land. Salt claimed that the term Maynila is from the Tagalog phrase sa may dila ("in the tongue") that mainly describes the location of the city in the tongue of the land mass.
Salt also cited in his work that Manila had been called the “Nuremberg of the East.” He clarified that may be it entirely correct or not, it is at least "full of suggestions" as “She (Manila) alone, amid the hurry of twentieth century civilization, and the characteristics of the Orient, sits serene in the medieval grandeur.” The history, as Salt expounded, had the walls, the buildings, the squares and the streets as its witnesses. He had seen the city as an expression of life and growth, not mere arbitrary counters of thought.Salt, Alexander. An Introduction to the History of Manila. n.d. Print.
Prehistory Historical geology of Manila Just like every other piece of land, the City of Manila started millions of years ago, even before it emerged by the Pasig River, as an integral part of the cataclysmic evolution in the development of the major geological framework of the Earth. Mainly, the causal relationship between Sierra Madre Range along the East coast of Luzon and the Central Valley in the middle of the mountain range and two other highlands, Zambales along the west and the highlands in the present provinces of Laguna, resulted to where the city stands now.
The Pasig River has been a factor that contributes to the ability of Manila to sustain life and habitation. A large part of the Cavite area, which was part of the submarine ridge of the ancient Taal Volcano became uplifted and raised within a differential displacement. This occurred near the Tagaytay ridge taking advantage of the southward projection of the Marikina fault line, and the crustal movements include areas as far as north as Parañaque. The zone of the said differential displacement is the site where the present Pasig River is situated.
Pleistocene With the formation of the Pasig River, Manila was said to be prepared for the coming of man. To have a better understanding of how the habitation and community started, one should take the macro level of understanding how humans have travelled and settled in the Philippines. During this period, the area where the City of Manila was situated was still inconclusive but this period is necessary for all events that happened contributed to the social and physical reality of the establishment and development of the city.
This period is known as an ice age. The change in climate was felt worldwide, even at the equator. This ice age resulted to the lower water levels of rivers, lakes and oceans. The South China Sea water level went down to an estimate of 240 feet. Then the period of ice age was over and as polar ice began to retreat and glaciers began to melt, bodies of water began to fill. These fluctuations in water level due to the alternating climate resulted to the alternate exposing and covering of land bridges that connected land masses. These land bridges, when exposed made migration possible, since the technology of sailing was not elaborate (or even present at that time). Records show that ancient man did not only come to the Philippines for a temporary shelter during climatic change, but also, they began to settle down. The ancient man, not being a specialized form of being, made several adjustments to cope up with a new environment. Cultural artifacts showed evidences of adjustments as later social scientists found.
Speculations said that man possibly arrived as early as 250,000 years ago (arguable and not conclusive) which was based on the association of the earliest forms of artifacts of human and fossils of extinct animals, which were also considered not so direct.
Elephant and Stegodon were believed to be roaming around the vicinities of Quezon City, and the rhinoceros in the area of the present-day Guadalupe in Mindanao. Water levels around this period was low, meaning portions of Manila bay just about Corregidor was exposed. It was only around the last glacial that the water level rise and the exposed area covered. The artifacts found showed that inhabitants were gradually moving towards the higher grounds.
Paleolithic age The last period of glacial stage marked the beginning of man's enhanced ability to create more tools which helped him for the attainment of survival. The Paleolithic Age is characterized as the Old Stone Age which explicitly shows a manifestation that man used crude stones to suffice his need for efficient tools and weapons.
However, there is still no sufficient evidence that man stayed at the vicinity of Manila during this Age. The possibility remains that man could've stayed at some parts of Manila proper for a short period of time either for food or temporary settlements. There is no adequate evidence to prove that man established permanent habitation sites within the area of Manila proper although some regions relatively near Manila, like Cavite and Pampanga showed potential signs of settlements.
The coastal outline of the Philippines before is far more different from what is today. In this period, in the latter part of the last glacial age, the first definite traces of man were found. Manila Bay was exposed during this time and the sealine would be located outside Corregidor Island. The Pasig River would be a cutting channel through the bay area, depositing sediments onto the coastal plain, gradually increasing the area of the delta. The last period of glacial age also entails the man to be defined as a tool making being. From merely tool users to toolmaker and user, man had been used to drafting, manufacturing and using what is available in the environment.
No signs of man have been discovered in the present area of manila that could date back into this period. Speculations state that evidences might have been buried underneath the silt and sediments of Manila bay and covered by the rising water during the last interglacial period. But on higher ground, implements were discovered by Dr. H. Otley Beyer around the Novaliches area, place that were not inundated by the rise of oscillation of sea and/or not disturbed by the infiltration of human habitation.
Along the eastern and northeastern edges of Manila, artifacts were discovered along with tektites.Tektites are glassy objects that are thought by most scientists today to be melt products of terrestrial rocks formed by hypervelocity impacts of large, extraterrestrial objects (D.M. Schneider, n.d) The same types of material were found on the area of the present-day New Manila by Dr. H. Otley Beyer. Towards the north of Manila, other tektites and Paleolithic tools were excavated in impressive quantities. Although none of these were found in Manila proper (tektites were found in Quezon City, Rizal, and Bulacan), these findings still indicates the intense human activity in a very early period.
Though there is a certainty that early humans could have ventured into the delta of the Pasig River to search for food, there are still no traces of this appearance. In one or two instances, early man could have been in the area of Manila too. They could have settled for a short period or have lurked for the search of food
Neolithic age