Lingling-o

[5] Although the earliest known lingling-o dates from 500 BC, the art of jade carving and its trade in the region is much older.

In 2000 BC, the Maritime Jade Road was established by the animist indigenous peoples of Taiwan and the Philippines.

The maritime jade road is one of the most extensive sea-based trade networks of a single geological material in the prehistoric world.

It was in existence for at least 3,000 years, where its peak production was from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, older than the Silk Road in mainland Eurasia.

[6][7][8][9] Earlier historians have posited that the earliest lingling-o artifacts found in the Philippines were created outside of the archipelago, but an expedition to the northern Philippine province of Batanes, led by archeologist Peter Bellwood in the early 2000s, led to the discovery of a lingling-o workshop, complete with construction tools and fragments.