The cultural achievements of pre-colonial Philippines or Pre-Philippines, include those covered by the prehistory and the early history (900–1521) of the Philippine archipelago's inhabitants, the pre-colonial forebears of today's Filipino people. Among the cultural achievements of the native people's belief systems, and culture in general, that are notable in many ethnic societies, range from agriculture, societal and environmental concepts, spiritual beliefs, up to advances in technology, science, and the arts.

Pre-colonial Philippine societies relied more on swidden agriculture than intensive permanent agriculture. For example, in pre-colonial Visayas, the staple crops such as rice, millet, bananas and root crops were grown in swiddens (kaingin). While rice was highly valued and was the preferred food, the most common food all year round were actually root crops, and in some areas the only available crop for most of the year were root crops such as taro and yam. The historian William Henry Scott also noted that pre-colonial Visayan farmers neither knew the plow nor the carabao before the arrival of the Spaniards while the anthropologist Robert B. Fox described the Mangyans of Mindoro as sedentary agriculturalists who farm without the plow and the carabao. In fact, it is well known among historians that the plow technology and the harnessing of the domesticated carabao for plowing were introduced and disseminated by the Spanish friars to finance the colonial enterprise, a fact which is often elided in most Philippine nationalist histories. Similarly, the building of the rice terraces of the Cordilleras started around 1650 and coincided with the arrival of the Spaniards in northern Luzon; this notion is supported by archeological evidence collected from five major sites (Old Kiangan Village, Hapao, Nagacadan, Batad, and Banaue) by the Ifugao Archeological Project, thus falsifying the previously accepted notion that the rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras have a 2000-year-old origin. The anthropologist Stephen Acabado noted that the adoption of wet-rice agriculture in the Cordillera highlands and the subsequent landscape modification for terraced wet-rice cultivation were part of the strategy of resistance of the highlanders from the Spanish conquest, as the modified landscape served as zones of refuge.

William Henry Scott also noted that the swiddening techniques employed by the pre-colonial Visayans were not destructive, as evidenced by the fact that most of the Visayan settlements around that time were permanent. The people did not see the need to resort to cutting into virgin woodland each time but due to the balance between the population and the available land available to them, reuse of previously abandoned swidden areas which underwent forest regeneration was possible

The islands’ precolonial period, during which indigenous peoples engaged in healthy trade with various cultures and economies in the region, gave way to a long colonial period, first under Spain for over 300 years, and then under the United States, during which it came briefly under Japanese occupation in World War II. The Philippines gained independence in 1946

As Asia’s oldest democracy, the Philippines bears a history densely woven with a record of defiance against social and colonial oppression, as exemplified by Jose Rizal (1861-1896), whose novels and writings against Spanish rule solidified Filipinos’ love for independence and freedom. Today Rizal, novelist, physician, educator—and Atenean—is revered as one of our National Heroes.

Like any postcolonial country, Philippine culture is a melting pot of all its colonial masters with a base that consists of its long, indigenous history. It is a culture that is difficult to pin down since it is so diverse; the Western influences may appear to be dominant but at close inspection, it is a mere skin over a pulsing archipelagic culture. The country's many languages underline the numerous narratives that exist in the Philippines, each language delineating a locale. So much so that English is currency in the country, even among the locals. The inherited language of a colonial master is what will allow someone from one end of the country to speak to someone from the other end. For the Filipino is a nomadic creature, even in their own land. This may explain why hospitality is a well-documented trait—everyone is from somewhere else, everyone is creating new home even as they wax nostalgic about their origins.

Religion is a powerful force in the country, whether it be Catholicism or Islam or the various other religions present in the country. A place of worship is always at the center of town and in a city; there are always numerous places to visit if spiritual sanctuary is sought. The pageantry of these religions come to life in the provincial fiestas, celebrations that combine colorful spectacle and the fervor of faith.The arts are a thriving industry in the Philippines. Entertainment is a large part of the Filipino life locally, and cultural labor is heavily exported especially in terms of the performing arts. There is much to explore in the Philippines, its magnificent vistas are what bring people here as tourists. But the complex nature of its culture is what keeps people interested.