Prehistoric grave goods in the Philippines

Grave goods are utilitarian and ornamental objects buried with the deceased. "Pabaon", as present day Filipinos know, is the tradition of including the priced possessions or items of the dead to its grave because of the belief that these things might be helpful to the deceased as it travels to the life after death. This has been a practice since the neolithic times.

Grave goods are symbol of social activities, and in a way reflects the urge of the people who buried the dead to show his or her social status. Grave goods provide substantial background on the technology, degree of complexity of the society, level of integration with other communities, social or group identities, individual identities, and concepts of wealth and power of the existing community.

The types and prestige values of the grave goods differ among groups, because of cultural differences. In studying grave goods, it is important to know the period of existence and to substantiate its prestige value.