SYNOPSIS:
One challenge archaeology faces in the Philippines is underrepresentation and misconceptions in academic and social circles perhaps due to stereotypes generated in mass media and the late establishment of an archaeology program in the Philippines in 1995. This photo-essay was conceptualized to share the results of the 2009–2012 excavations in the old town of San Juan, Batangas, to a larger audience beyond the community of Philippine archaeologists, archaeology enthusiasts, and supporters. This work documents how our perception of the site changes through the years. Technical site reports produced after an excavation are full of jargon that may not be appreciated by a more general audience. Individual reports on artifact analyses are likewise technical for they are written for archaeologists and better suited for academic journals. Popular reports using nontechnical language such as newspaper reports are infrequent. I hope that this photo-essay is one step to expand the audience of Philippine archaeology and at the same time disseminate the results of an archaeological research through more creative means.
Author: Grace Barreto-Tesoro
Published 2021
182 pages