By Cheryl Robbins Translated by Vicky Huang
Photos Provided by National Museum Of Natural Science

      In a fast-moving, forward-looking place like Taiwan, it is difficult to even begin thinking about what this island was like before recorded history. Sometimes, however, that prehistoric past has a way of revealing itself in unexpected ways. Since 1896, more than 1,000 archaeological sites have been found in Taiwan, in addition to a number of animal fossils dredged from the Penghu Channel (between Taiwan and the Penghu, or Pescadores, islands).

An in-depth analyses of these fossils, sites and excavated artifacts indicates that, during a period of glacial advances and retreats between three million and 10,000 years ago, Taiwan was joined with Mainland China, via land bridges, several times. Animals, including ancient elephants, migrated from along the Yangtze River to southern China and then across these land bridges to Taiwan. Ancient mainlanders, who lived by hunting and gathering, may have followed this animal migration, as Taiwan's earliest inhabitants appear to have arrived more than 15,000 years BP (before present).

Right here in Taichung, a recently discovered archeological site is under excavation by a team from the National Museum of Natural Science. This site, named Huilaili , is located at the corner of Henan and Shrjeng roads in Taichung City's 7th Redevelopment Zone, which has seen major development in the recent few years. This zone includes the proposed sites for the Guggenheim Museum, National Concert Hall Taichung branch and the new civic center, as well as the recently-opened Idee Department Store, and popular Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store and Tiger City Mall. Chuan-Kun Ho , Ph.D., chairman and curator for the science museum's Department of Anthropology, explained that its location is part of its importance.

"In schools, there is emphasis on teaching about Taiwan's Han culture. The Taiwanese culture is not only the Han culture. The Han Chinese only have about a 400-year history on Taiwan. If you want to know more about this land, you should also talk about the prehistoric peoples. That is the reason why a site in a major city like Taichung is important. We need a site that is readily accessible to the public, so that they can learn more about Taiwan's prehistory," he said.

Ho explained that the Huilaili site may have never been discovered without commercial development in the area. One day, one of Ho's Tunghai University history students was visiting the parking area of Idee Department Store, which was still under construction. Along the dirt edge, he found pieces of pottery and brought them to Ho. The professor then asked some members of his department to visit the site and the landowners allowed them to dig five test pits, where pottery pieces were found. Following a subsequent survey, the team moved to the current site.

Discoveries to date

So far, evidence of three cultures has been found at Huilaili, including Niumatou , Yingpu and Fantzuyuan. The Niumatou Culture dates back more than 3,500 years BP, while the Yingpu culture dates from about 3500 to 2000 BP. The Fantzuyuan culture is mainly distributed around Dadu and Bagua mountains and dates from about 2000 to 400 BP. Ho notes that, nearby, he has found pieces of pottery belonging to a culture earlier than the Niumatou, meaning that this site could be older than 4,000 years.

The excavation began with prehistoric garbage dumps, known as "dust pits" in archaeological terms. Ho explained that these contain a lot of broken pottery and turtle, bird and fish bones. "This is the first time we have found a lot of bone materials in Taichung City. These materials are very important for understanding the diet of prehistoric peoples. We also found stone tools and rice remains. We know that the Niumatou Culture used stone knives to harvest millet. So, perhaps the use of rice and millet coexisted. In some test pits, we found post holes, which were used for pile dwellings, sometimes called stilt houses, as the living areas were raised platforms," he said.

From the top Fantzuyuan cultural layer, much excitement has been generated by the discovery of well-preserved and complete skeletons. The first skeleton, recovered in September of last year, is of a small boy probably less than five years of age. In November, the skeleton of an adult male was found and, on December 9, so was the skeleton of an adult female. These skeletons were all found face down. Starting from 2,000 years BP, face-down burials were common practice in the central part of Taiwan.

Creating an archeological museum

Ho says that, in his view, the final goal of this excavation should be to create an on-site museum. The Huilaili site cluster is thought to cover about 180,000 square meters. In such a large area, there is a good chance that the entire settlement will be found. If it is found, it will bring a much-needed boost to central Taiwan archeology and tourism, he says, noting that the Huilaili site is very well-preserved--another reason to build an on-site museum there. However, with such a large area, it may take about five years to complete the excavation work. One possibility raised by Ho is the on-site museum's inclusion in the Guggenheim Museum.

"They can coexist. I have talked to Mayor Jason Hu about this, and have asked him to incorporate the site within the Guggenheim site," he said, noting the site's important education function. "This is a great opportunity for students to learn about archeology. They can see the real thing. They can do a little digging. It is of much more value than sitting in a classroom and reading textbooks."

Much archeological evidence is being destroyed

The discovery of the Huilaili site not only calls attention to Taiwan's prehistory, but also to Taiwan's archaeological preservation woes. Ho notes that, in all of Taiwan, there are less than 10 archaeologists with Ph.D.s. "We don't have enough archaeologists. We are trying to do salvage work right now, because of the large public construction projects such as the High Speed Rail Project and the second North-South Highway. Along the highway, we found a lot of archaeological sites but we didn't have time to salvage them, so some were destroyed," he said. In Taichung city, it is very likely that sites around Huilaili have been destroyed during construction of the area's residential and commercial buildings.

From the archeological evidence that has been preserved, people moved across the Central Mountain Range and along the coastlines and the rivers during prehistoric times. Although these movements are clear, there are still no answers about the origins of Taiwan's aborigines or their connections to prehistoric cultures. From the human remains obtained from Huilaili, ancient DNA can be used for comparative purposes and facial features can be reconstructed from the skulls, hopefully shedding light on these questions.

Huilaili special exhibit

Because this site has attracted much media and public attention, the National Museum of Natural Science has created a special exhibition on Huilaili in the lobby of the Life Science Hall. The exhibit—expected to run until at least the end of March--is being kept small, as only several months have passed since the site began to be excavated and there is still much analysis work to be done on recovered artifacts. However, it does allow visitors a glimpse of the work that is being carried out, as well provide the site's background information.

The exhibition highlight and focus is the first recovered skeleton from Huilaili, that of a boy measuring about 99 centimeters in height. The skeleton was sent to a laboratory in the US for analysis and was dated at 1300 BP. Along with the skeleton were found pottery vessels, stone tools and fish bones, believed to be burial goods. There is also an enlarged photo of the site showing where the boy's skeleton was found, as well as a depiction of one of the site's dust pits with various types of animal bones. More special exhibits and a permanent exhibit on Taiwan's prehistory can be expected in the future, as archaeologists continue their fascinating search for the past.

For more information about Huilaili and this exhibit, contact the National Museum of Natural Science at (04) 2322-6940.