A Comprised Archaeological History of Taiwan through the Long-Term Record of Heping Dao, Keelung

• DOI: 10.1007/s10761-017-0453-y
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02T05:23:15Z
• Authors: María Cruz Berrocal; Elena Serrano Her...; Marc Gener Moret; Antonio Uriarte G...; Mar Torra Pérez; Susana Consuegra ...; Alexandre Chevalier; Frederique Valentin; Cheng-hwa Tsang
• Keywords: Archaeological record; Sequence (biology); Historical record

Peer reviewed<br/>We present the results of six years of archaeological work carried out in Heping Dao, Keelung, northern Taiwan. The site has revealed a rich archaeological record spanning a sequence that comprehends most of the history of Taiwan, including the most salient historical landmarks in it. The study of this long-term sequence of habitation in Heping Dao throughout prehistory to current times, allows us to attempt a historical archaeology of the longue duree of the place that in turn enables the establishment of comparisons between periods and raising of specific questions, among them: the general understanding of cultural transformation along the Neolithic and the Iron Age, and in turn the transition Iron Age/Aboriginal historic times in Taiwan, which in our view has to be observed as a history of continuity rather than of interruptions; the recognition of the Chinese presence in Taiwan in the pre-European period; the implantation of the European colony and its effects on the local populations; the differing material remains and impacts caused by the presence of pre-European Chinese and the Qing occupation; and the potential for a comparison between the European and the Japanese colonial projects as seen in the material record.<br/>