Funerary Practice and Community Identities in the Bacong Region of Negros Island, Central Philippines

Jar burials are among the most distinctive and widespread mortuary traditions in the archaeology of the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia. Often interpreted within Austronesian migration frameworks, these practices are commonly explained through large-scale processes of population movement and cultural diffusion. While useful for identifying regional patterns, such approaches can obscure localized practices and the ways communities expressed and maintained social identities. This dissertation examines jar burial practices in the Bacong region of southeastern Negros Island, central Philippines. Drawing on excavations conducted by the National Museum of the Philippines, it analyzes eight sites—five Metal Period (c. 500 BC–AD 1000) and three Proto-Historic (AD 1000–1521). Using practice and identity theory, mortuary behavior is assessed through high-visibility attributes, including grave arrangements, burial vessels, grave goods, and ritual activities, and low-visibility attributes, defined as unintentional yet affiliative technological traits in ceramic production. The analysis identifies patterns in mortuary practices and technological traditions across the Metal Period and Proto-Historic period. Differences in burial assemblages, vessel forms, and the presence of imported goods indicate changes in how communities expressed affiliation, organized social relations, and transmitted knowledge over time. These findings highlight the variability and historical specificity of jar burial traditions in Bacong and contribute to broader discussions of identity, social interaction, and material culture in Philippine and Southeast Asian archaeology.

Author dc:creator

• Alexandra S. De Leon (24400187)

• Anthropology
• Archaeology

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright
• Open Access after 2028-05-01

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.25417/uic.32995247.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/32995247