2000 Gawad Alab ng Haraya Awardee

(Alab ng Haraya Awards)

Through his work, greater light has been shed on the saga that is the evolution of Philippine culture — from the early exemplars found in caves at the southern tip of the Sulu archipelago to the contemporary issues of conservation and preservation facing traditional peoples. Undoubtedly, Jesus T. Peralta and his work continue to challenge even long-held beliefs about the Philippines’ ancestral roots.

His involvement manifests itself most evidently through the more than a hundred scientific and technological papers, articles, and books he has written in the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, and general culture.

In The Tinge of Red, he discusses how a faint trace of red on a prehistoric earthenware vessel marked the emergence of what he refers to as an artistic consciousness, an indication of early man’s recognition of the difference between the aesthetic and the utilitarian. He then proceeds to pursue the trail of this emergent awareness through the ages and across the geographical expanse of the Philippines.

Awareness of the erosion and, in some instances, disappearance of traditional cultures led Peralta to write Glimpses. He describes it as an attempt to identify the ethnic boundaries that define the existence of Philippine indigenous communities as well as provide an impression of the different peoples that make up the nation. Even as he says, "The loss of ethnic culture is a high price to pay for nationhood," he acknowledges that this is inevitable, "…for ethnicity by its very nature changes as individual persons alter through time."

His written work stems from the long hours he spent in the field conducting research. For years, he has directed and supervised several archaeological researches, among them the Open Site Paleolithic Archaeology of Cagayan Valley; the Metal Age Archaeology of the Bicol region; the Agusan Valley Archaeological Project; and the Archaeology of the Cave Sites in the Tau’t Bato Project. In the field of archaeological research, he has introduced several innovations such as palynology.

Through his involvement with the National Museum and its endeavors, he initiated the organization of the museum branches in Bolinao, Pangasinan; Tuguegarao and Peñablanca in Cagayan Valley; and in Butuan City. Further, he sparked the development of the underwater archaeology capabilities and the chemistry and conservation laboratory of the Museum.

Though retired from museum work, he remains active in the culture and arts scene, serving as a consultant of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Gawad Alab ng Haraya at Dangal ng Haraya Guidelines