Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

Location

Cordillera

Country

Philippines

Year of Research

1995

Culture

For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains.
The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a slight socialbalance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the agreement between humankind and the environment.
The terraces demonstrate a persistence of cultural traditions and remarkable continuity and endurance, since archaeological evidence reveals that this technique has been in use in the region for 2000 years virtually unchanged.
They offer many lessons for use in similar environments elsewhere.Maintenance of the living rice terraces reflects a primarily cooperative approach of the whole community which is based on detailed knowledge of the rich diversity of biological resources existing in the Ifugao agro-ecosystem, a finely tuned annual system respecting lunar cycles, zoning and planning, extensive soil conservation, mastery of a most complex pest control regime based on the processing of a variety of herbs, accompanied by religious rituals.