Diorama 4: Pottery Making in Bicol, Circa 6000 BC

The earliest pottery can be traces to between the eighth and sixth millennium BC. Pottery’s origins remain unknown, but by the time it was introduced in the Philippines, the technology already showed the use of paddle and anvil, slow turntable, and an open fire.

The subsequent dates clustering about the fifth millennium BC, establish pottery technology as already widespread in the northern and southern portions of the archipelago. Neolithic pottery also saw the use of decorative motifs that were incised, impressed, or painted. The earliest motif occurring among these was the scroll executed in free hand. The development of pottery from the pre-metal period to subsequent ages was a gradual process that also reflects the alterations in the structure and organization of Philippine societies.

It was during the Metal Age that pottery centers became more specialised in that certain types of production became associated with a general area. While it may be said that one trait of Metal Age pottery was the proliferation of forms, there was also a distinct replication of individual forms in large numbers, indicating mass production. This period of development has often been called the “golden age of Philippine pottery.”