This meant that the Buddhism and Hinduism introduced into the Philippine archipelago by the Srivijaya and the Majapahit were of a distinctly (Insular) Southeast Asian variant, as Osborne, in his 2004 history of Southeast Asia, notes:Much, but not all, of this culture was absorbed by the local population and joined to their existing cultural patterns.[…] Because Indian culture “came” to Southeast Asia, one must not think that Southeast Asians lacked a culture of their own. Indeed, the generally accepted view is that Indian culture made such an impact on Southeast Asia because it fitted easily with the existing cultural patterns and religious beliefs of populations that had already moved a considerable distance along the path of civilization.[…] Southeast Asians, to summarize the point, borrowed but they also adapted. In some very important cases, they did not need to borrow at all." Possible influence through early contacts with the Srivijaya Popular literature and some 20th century history textbooks often suggest that Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences first came to the Philippines through early contacts with the Srivijayan and Majapahit thalassocracies. Jocano notes, however, that there is insufficient physical evidence to suggest that Philippine polities traded extensively with the Srivijayan empire. He suggests that contact between Philippine polities and the Srivijaya was probably limited to small-scale trade. Influence through trade with the Majapahit Jocano suggests that the Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences on Philippine cultures actually probably came through the Majapahit, as evidenced by significant archeological findings: "Philippine-Indonesian relations during precolonial times became intensified during the rise of the Majapahit Empire. It was during this time that much of the so-called Indian cultural influence reached the Philippines through Indonesia. But what penetrated into our country, particularly in the seaport communities, was already the modified version of the original Hindu cultural traits." Manifestations of cultural influence Because physical evidence regarding the degree to which India influenced the Philippines prior to the Spanish conquista is rather sparse, scholars have held differing views on this matter over the years. Preeminent Filipino Anthropologist F. Landa Jocano (2001) notes:"Except for a few artifacts and identified loanwords that have been accepted as proofs of Indian-Philippine relations, there are meager intrusive materials to sustain definite views concerning the range of Indian prehistoric influence in the country. Many generalizations [that] have so far been advanced merely obscure the basic issues of Philippine cultural development. Even archeological data, mostly trade items,