Ateneo Breakthroughs is Ateneo de Manila University’s flagship public lecture series highlighting research and creative work that has the potential to improve lives or at least bring new perspectives to pressing issues—hence the tagline, Ideas that change the world.


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Ancient Technologies, Forgotten Navigators: 
Early Human Migration and Seafaring in the Philippine Archipelago

Dr Alfred F Pawlik, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Thursday, 27 March 2026, 2:00 pm

Technologically sophisticated navigators once lived and travelled across the Philippine archipelago many thousands of years before Magellan, Jung He, and even the Austronesians. Far older than any known written record, their story is whispered in echoes of ancient crossings—over straits, island chains, and open seas once thought impassable to humans. 

This lecture explores the archaeology of ancient human migration and maritime interaction in the archipelago, tracing how early hominins reached Luzon hundreds of thousands of years ago and how anatomically modern humans later moved through Palawan, Mindoro, and the wider Wallacean world. Drawing from fossil, artefactual, and radiometric evidence, it examines how these early peoples adapted to demanding coastal and island environments, developed sophisticated hunting, fishing, and seafaring practices, and forged connections across vast stretches of ocean. Bringing together archaeology, experimental reconstruction, and exciting new technologies such as robotic excavation and machine learning, this lecture opens a vivid window onto the forgotten past of the Philippine islands—a rich story of lost worlds, vanished peoples, and daring maritime journeys that underscore the archipelago's crucial role in the greater story of humanity.

Alfred F Pawlik, Dr rer nat, is a professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of Ateneo de Manila University. He researches on the archaeology of Southeast Asia, the anthropology of hunter-gatherers and forager/farmer interaction and past human behaviour. Dr Pawlik is also the Research Coordinator of Ateneo's Dr Rosita G Leong School of Social Sciences and the Director of the Anthropological and Sociology Institute of Ateneo.

📆 27 March 2026, Thursday
⏰ 2:00 - 4:00 PM
📍 Escaler Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights Campus, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City


Past Breakthroughs Lectures

Lecture / Talk / Discussion

Ateneo Breakthroughs - Ancient Technologies, Forgotten Navigators: Early Human Migration and Seafaring in the Philippine Archipelago

Fri, 27 Mar 2026

Escaler Hall, Science Education Complex, Ateneo de Manila University

Technologically sophisticated navigators once lived and travelled across the Philippine...

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Escaler Hall, Science Education Complex, Ateneo de Manila University

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Escaler Hall, Science Education Complex, Ateneo de Manila University

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ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY
Office of the Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation
Room 307, Faber Hall
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights Campus
Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights
Quezon City 1108, Philippines
research@ateneo.edu

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COUNCIL
urc@ateneo.edu
+63 2 8426 6001 local 5049