Amid Mindanao's armed conflicts, artifacts found thereat prove settlements of pre-historic civilization in Maitum.

Other agricultural products are coconuts, maize, rubber, bananas, mangoes, pork, eggs, beef, fish and cacao.

The economy has accelerated in the past decade driven by advances in global communication technology and the finishing of a modern highway that tremendously improved trade and transport.

In 1991, the National Museum archaeological team discovered anthropomorphic secondary burial jars in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Maitum, Sarangani, Mindanao, Philippines.

They are made of earthenware, and are characterized by their design that suggests human figures with complete or partial facial features of the first inhabitants in Mindanao.

According to Dr. Eusebio Dizon, head of the archaeological team, this type of burial jars are “remarkably unique and intriguing” because they have not been found elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Thus, many archaeologists from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Indonesia gained interest on this initial find and a number of archaeological - either government or privately sponsored - excavations have been conducted to recover these artifacts.

These jars have characteristics that belong to the Developed Metal Age Period in the Philippines [calibrated date of 190 BC to 500 AD].

Experts used soot samples taken from the walls of a small earthenware vessel found inside one of the larger burial jars.

Violating the law that safeguards the Maitum jars will lead to imprisonment of up to 20 years and payment for damages up to 250,000 pesos.

The interview noted the need for a public awareness campaign on the importance of the Maitum jars for the town's heritage, especially to the barangays within the caves they were found in.