“Pamana mula sa Hukay” is a Filipino phrase, which means Heritage from the Pit.
In Anthropology, anything that is discovered through land and water excavation is called
Archaeology. All materials (artifacts and ecofacts) discovered in an archaeological
excavation represent a distinct value and story of a community. It is part of the community’s
history and heritage that is why it is significant. But how to determine the significance of
archaeological heritage? What is the importance of determining archaeological
significance? This paper discusses the importance of archaeological heritage significance
and how to determine it using the Australia International Council of Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS) Burra Charter for Places of Cultural Significance as the theoretical framework.
The subject site is Barangay Puypuy, Municipality of Bay in the Province of Laguna,
Philippines, which is located in the southern part of Metro Manila. The paper used
qualitative method, which focuses on determining the physical (photo documentation and
drawing analysis; and landscape and setting analysis), oral (in-depth interview) and
documentary (government reports and published books and journal articles) evidences. The
limitation of the study is focused on the gathered information related to the technicalities of
the archaeological study, most of which is from the preliminary archaeological reports of
the University of the Philippines – Archaeological Studies Program (UP-ASP). Ethical
considerations for the information gathering and analysis were disseminated formally to the
resource persons and institutions. At the end of the study, the researcher concluded that
archaeological heritage significance of the site is focused on its aesthetics and cultural
dimensions. The site is considered as a place where early people lived during the preHistoric
period and a burial site based from the retrieved artifacts and ecofacts. A more
extensive research must be implemented especially on the dating of the archaeological
materials and to broaden the subject area especially near the excavated site.