The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, among other recent finds such as the Golden Tara of Butuan and 14th century pottery and gold jewellery in Cebu, is highly important in revising the ancient Philippine history, which was until then considered by some Western historians to be culturally isolated from the rest of Asia, as no evident pre-Hispanic written records were found at the time. Philippine historian William Henry Scott debunked these theories in 1968 with his "Prehispanic Source materials for the Study of Philippine History" which was subsequently published in 1984. The locations mentioned are all near rivers, suggesting Old Malay may have come to the area along trade networks.