The town is the location where the Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery or Maitum Jars were found.

In 1991, the National Museum archaeological team discovered anthropomorphic secondary burial jars in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Maitum, Sarangani, Mindanao, Philippines.
The jars are commonly known today as Maitum jars.
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.
Furthermore, they give emphasis to the Filipinos’ popular belief of life after death.

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].
According to the laboratory results determined through radiocarbon dating, these secondary burial jars date back to the Metal Age.
Two conventional dates were 1830 +/-60 B.P. [calibrated date of AD 70 to 370] and 1920 +/- 50 B.P. [calibrated date of 5 BC to 225 AD].
Experts used soot samples taken from the walls of a small earthenware vessel found inside one of the larger burial jars.

Most of the jars are now on display at the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila.
The town has a museum with Maitum jars, however, the jars are only replicas.
According to the town government, they intend for the Maitum jars to be returned to Maitum town from Manila once a proper museum with high-tech conservation capabilities has been established.
Unfortunately, funding for the museum from the national government is scarce.
Museum researchers have speculated that many Maitum jars have been looted before their initial discovery, as many jars have been seen in the black market.

The Maitum Jars have been declared as National Treasures of the Philippines and Important Cultural Properties of the Philippines, meaning, they must never get out from the country and should be conserved by all means.
Found jars should be directly given to the government for proper conservation for future generations, and must not be sold to collectors.
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.
Unfortunately, despite the high regard of scholars on the Maitum jars, in an interview of townsfolk in 2012, majority of the residents of Maitum town are unaware of the cultural value of the jars.
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.

Some locals have said that they have sold jars to foreigners, who pay them a hefty price.
Locals would sometimes throw away jar shards as well.
On top of that, the caves where the jars were initially found have repeatedly been ransacked since there are no physical protections in the site.
There are no site guards or a conservation station located within the vicinity of the cave despite being discovered around 3 decades ago.
Many jar shards exist in the caves and are left unprotected, despite the caves being declared as a heritage site.
Due to these factors, despite many scholars wanting to campaign the declaration of the town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, such declaration would be hard to achieve due to the lack of public awareness in the town itself, mindfulness for cultural heritage in the town, and physical and a better legal protection for the caves and its jars.
The town is the location where the Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery or Maitum Jars were found.
In 1991, the National Museum archaeological team discovered anthropomorphic secondary burial jars in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Maitum, Sarangani, Mindanao, Philippines. The jars are commonly known today as Maitum jars. 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. Furthermore, they give emphasis to the Filipinos’ popular belief of life after death.
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]. According to the laboratory results determined through radiocarbon dating, these secondary burial jars date back to the Metal Age. Two conventional dates were 1830 +/-60 B.P. [calibrated date of AD 70 to 370] and 1920 +/- 50 B.P. [calibrated date of 5 BC to 225 AD]. Experts used soot samples taken from the walls of a small earthenware vessel found inside one of the larger burial jars.
Most of the jars are now on display at the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. The town has a museum with Maitum jars, however, the jars are only replicas. According to the town government, they intend for the Maitum jars to be returned to Maitum town from Manila once a proper museum with high-tech conservation capabilities has been established. Unfortunately, funding for the museum from the national government is scarce. Museum researchers have speculated that many Maitum jars have been looted before their initial discovery, as many jars have been seen in the black market.
The Maitum Jars have been declared as National Treasures of the Philippines and Important Cultural Properties of the Philippines, meaning, they must never get out from the country and should be conserved by all means. Found jars should be directly given to the government for proper conservation for future generations, and must not be sold to collectors. 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. Unfortunately, despite the high regard of scholars on the Maitum jars, in an interview of townsfolk in 2012, majority of the residents of Maitum town are unaware of the cultural value of the jars. 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.
Some locals have said that they have sold jars to foreigners, who pay them a hefty price. Locals would sometimes throw away jar shards as well. On top of that, the caves where the jars were initially found have repeatedly been ransacked since there are no physical protections in the site. There are no site guards or a conservation station located within the vicinity of the cave despite being discovered around 3 decades ago. Many jar shards exist in the caves and are left unprotected, despite the caves being declared as a heritage site. Due to these factors, despite many scholars wanting to campaign the declaration of the town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, such declaration would be hard to achieve due to the lack of public awareness in the town itself, mindfulness for cultural heritage in the town, and physical and a better legal protection for the caves and its jars.
Maitum, Sarangani