Since ancient times, the Batak have inhabited a series of river valleys along the coastline of what is today Puerto Princesa City.

[3][2] Also called Tinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists to be closely related to the Aeta of Central Luzon, another Negrito tribe.

They tend to be small in stature, with dark skin and frizzy or curly hair, traits which originally garnered the "Negrito" groups their name.

The Batak have for centuries combined a hunting-gathering lifestyle[4] with seeding of useful food plants, kaingin, a slash and burn farming method,[2] and trading.

[5] During the mid to late 20th century, the Batak was easily pushed out of their preferred gathering grounds by the sea into the mountains by emigrant farmers, mostly from Luzon.

Living in less fertile areas, they have attempted to supplement their income by harvesting and selling various nontimber forest products, such as rattan, tree resins, and honey.

[11] As a result, Batak are being absorbed into a more diffuse group of upland indigenous peoples who are slowing losing their tribal identities, and with it their unique spirituality and culture; there is even some debate as to whether or not they still exist as a distinct ethnic entity.

[5] The Batak today engage in many occupations which includes foraging, selling forest derived goods, shifting cultivation, and workers under Filipino farmers or other employers.

Primary food for the Batak were squirrels, jungle fowls, wild pigs, honey, fruits, yams, fish, mollusks, crustaceans and more.

The Batak used many methods to capture animals like pigs with the use of bows and arrows, spears, dogs, or homemade guns which varied as time passed and foreign influence increased.