Taiwan Archaeology: Local Development and Cultural Boundaries in the China Seas

Description

In Taiwan Archaeology: Local Development and Cultural Boundaries in the China Seas, Richard Pearson describes the archaeology of the island, outlining the major discoveries of the past fifty years. These date from roughly 200,000 years ago to the pivotal seventeenth century AD, the time of Dutch and Spanish contact and the entry of Taiwan into global trade markets. The book focuses on some forty sites and is based on roughly 450 published sources in English, Chinese, and Japanese and includes a brief discussion of finds from the surrounding areas of Fujian, Guangdong, the northern Philippines, and the Ryukyu Islands, noting their significance for understanding Taiwan. This discussion allows for comparison of the different historical trajectories of the neighboring regions of the East and South China Seas through more than five millennia. While the early chapters are primarily descriptive with some interpretive conclusions, the final chapter contains discussions of general topics that integrate and interpret the earlier narrative sections and highlight some of the most interesting topics of the latest research. Among the subjects covered are the effects of sea level change, ancient exchange systems of basalt from Penghu and nephrite from Fengtian (Hualien), and glass beads from Southeast Asia and the China mainland. The prehistoric people of Taiwan lived in a similar fashion to the peoples of the adjacent mainland until around 3500 years ago, when their cultural and political developmental trajectories diverged as Taiwan became isolated from the increasingly complex societies of Guangdong and Fujian. New data show that southern and eastern Taiwan groups participated in exchange networks with people in Island Southeast Asia as early as 2500 years ago. Unique in its coverage of recent advances in the study of the long-term history of Taiwan and surrounding areas, Taiwan Archaeology explores many features of the island’s premodern past that are key to understanding its current geopolitical situation. Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Frameworks and Debates Chapter 2 Environment of Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong , and the Ryukyu Islands Chapter 3 Palaeolithic Discoveries Chapter 4 Early Neolithic, 6500 to 4500 BP Chapter 5 Middle Neolithic, 4500 to 3500 BP Chapter 6 Late Neolithic, 3500 to 2500 BP Chapter 7 Metal Period, 2500 to 500 BP Chapter 8 Contact Period, AD 1500 to 1663 Chapter 9 Taiwan in Context The Archaeology of Neighboring Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and the Ryukyu Islands Chapter 10 Conclusions and Prospects References Index About the Author