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Mausoleums
Mausoleums are physical structures that are representative of the way people lived. The Manila South Cemetery is home to burial sites of both elite and lower-class individuals. Burial sites themselves can be indicative of social status, wealth, and identity of the deceased. Mausoleums require regular maintenance and therefore are only affordable to wealthier individuals such as businessmen, merchants, political officials, and other elites. Therefore, it is uncommon for mausoleums to be decorated with imagery of religious affiliations, family names, and other symbols that depict cultural identity. On the contrary, lower-class individuals unable to pay for a burial site end up being placed aside in bags along with others who are also unable to. The distinctions between social classes carries on after death in burial site differences.

Ornaments
Ornaments found between the Neolithic and Metal Age regardless of whether they were locally or non-locally produced point to advancements in technologies and cultures. Non-local ornaments suggest trade was common prior to colonial influences. As a result, it points to a more advanced culture inconsistent with narratives of a primitive culture prior to colonialism. Instead, there are established systems that deal with trading and producing ornaments.

Jade
Although jade ornaments found from the Neolithic period are not local resources from the Philippines, discovery of jade ornaments in Tabon Caves suggests development of culture and technology since it implies early trade with China and Taiwan. Aside from trading relationships being formed, early Filipinos learned to produce similar ornaments made out of jade using metal-drill techniques leading to cultural advancements. Due to jade being an exported good and less accessible, it was considered a prestigious good and therefore associated with high-status and considered a symbol of the wearer's beauty. Metal ornaments resembling jade ornaments continue to be worn by the Ifugao as representations of social status and power.

Shell
While shell ornaments are abundant in Tabon Caves, they were considered less valuable in comparison to exotic goods because of their local availability. This does not mean that shell ornaments were not important. They are still considered important factors in building and maintaining social relationships. Shell ornaments have become embedded in Philippine culture as they have transcended through time despite their lack of prestige.

Sociopolitical Symbolisms
Symbolisms in sociopolitical structures deal with power dynamics in both chiefdoms and governments. In both cases they highlight the importance of wealth and power in maintaining hierarchies that give chiefdoms and government the ability to control communities. Outside influences such as colonialism have affected modern sociopolitical structures, but chiefdoms continue to be a part of Philippine communities.

Chiefdoms
Chiefdoms are sociopolitical structures that represent systems of wealth and status. Wealth and higher social status in chiefdoms can be achieved through the ability to host massive feasts for the community with prestigious foods, such as meats. On the other hand, wealth and status in Visayan traditions was demonstrated in a different manner than the Ifugao. The community would offer prestigious items to chiefdoms as a form of ritual and therefore prestige came from having the most valuable resources to oneself. As such, there was a link to a prestige goods economy where chiefdoms could control who has access to certain resources. This in itself represents local relationships with trade and serves as a symbol of Philippine political alliances with international bodies. These types of trading systems can be traced back to past forest hunter-gatherer relationships with coastal people that also predate colonial influences.

Government
Manila was established as the capital of the Philippines under colonial government rule and was meant to symbolize a set towards modernization. With modernization of the Philippines arose idea of capitals being a symbol of progress and the way other cities should be. This acts as a way of legitimizing the power held by the government itself. There are also attempts to propose an image of national identity and unity based on the buildings and monuments that are erected in public spaces. However, there lacks mention of the ways in which government exerts their power and control by dictating where and how people live. As a result, capitals such as Manila are heavily influenced by colonial ideologies and continue to affect the way Philippine communities live and the narratives about their past.