Renowned Filipino archaeologist Victor Paz dies at 57

MANILA, Philippines – Renowned Filipino archeologist Victor Paz died on Saturday, September 7. He was 57.

The National Museum of the Philippines made the announcement in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“The National Museum of the Philippines deeply mourns the passing of renowned Filipino archaeologist Victor J. Paz of the University of the Philippine School of Archaeology,” it said.

Paz was a graduate of AB History at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 1987. He finished his masters degree, still in UP, in 1994. He went to University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom for his graduate studies.

He served as director of the former UP Archaeological Studies Program from 2002 to 2012. He was a faculty at the UP Department of History for three decades, beginning in 1987.

Paz was also the founding editor of Hukay, a Journal of Southeast Asia and Pacific Archaeology and founding member of the Kapisanan ng mga Arkeologist ng Pilipinas (KAPI).

“With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, Dr. Paz made his mark with a long list of successful archaeological and heritage projects and in forming the next generation of Filipino archaeologists through his teaching and mentoring,” the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) said.

“Throughout the years, he had been a highly valued member of the NMP extended family, particularly as a resource person in its public programs, a collaborator in numerous research projects in archaeology, and as an advisor, colleague and friend to many,” it added. – Rappler.com