Tracing the History of Contemporary Taiwan's Aboriginal Groups

From the Periphery to the Centre

Su-Chiu Kuo

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781000688290
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Australian & Oceanian History
• Index: Social Sciences

Using archaeological evidence, the author investigates the prehistories of Austronesian migrants to Taiwan and their connections to contemporary peoples in Taiwan. Due to its unique geographic location, Taiwan has played a significant role in various peoples' maritime migrations and the process of cultural interactions for tens of thousands of years. Within the history of humankind, Taiwan has also evidenced a high degree of cultural continuity. Paleolithic people had already settled on the island at least 30, 000 years ago, but Taiwan only entered the historical period as recently as the 17th century. Before this, there was a long and continuous development over the prehistoric period. To this day there are at least 20 different indigenous ethnic groups on the island, totalling over half a million people, all of whom speak Austronesian languages. Investigating the archaeology of abandoned villages, Kuo takes the Paiwan and Sanhe cultures as key case studies of these groups. This book provides valuable insight for historians and archaeologists of Taiwan, and scholars of prehistoric Austronesian migration.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Author’s Preface
• 1 Introduction: Historical Research Centered on Aboriginal Peoples
• 2 Research into the Origins of Today’s Ethnic Groups Based on Laiyi Abandoned Village
• 3 Investigation of Relationships between Traditional Aboriginal Villages and External Societies: A Case Study from Pucunug Abandoned Village
• 4 An Archaeological Study on Pucunug Abandoned Village
• 5 Conclusions
• Index