Abstract
Taiwan occupies a pivotal geographic position at the intersection of East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific, making it central to discussions of both Neolithic dispersal in Asia and the expansion of Austronesian-speaking populations into Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. Understanding the development of plant subsistence in Neolithic Taiwan is therefore crucial for reconstructing broader patterns of agricultural expansion and human mobility across the Asia-Pacific region. Yet, despite this significance, evidence for plant foods and their management in Neolithic Taiwan remains limited and fragmentary. This thesis offers a critical re-assessment of the archaeobotanical record to clarify its character and better evaluate Taiwan’s role in the intertwined histories of Asian agriculture and Austronesian dispersals.
It is often assumed that Neolithic peoples in Taiwan practiced slash-and-burn agriculture (e.g. 連照美 & 宋文薰, 2006; 劉益昌, 2011, 2019b; 蔡承豪, 2009a) for underground storage organs (USOs), grain and fruit crops as early as the Neolithic Tapenkeng (TPK) Culture, beginning around 6000 years ago (Chang, 1969b; 張光直, 1987, 1995). Most discussions, however, have focused on the cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa) and millets (Setaria italica and Panicum miliaceum) (e.g. Deng et al., 2022b; Sagart et al., 2018; Tsang et al., 2017), while the potential usage of underground storage organs (USOs) and fruit crops has not been explored. This study re-examines models of Taiwanese Neolithic plant subsistence through a qualitative assessment of plant food repertoires and associated agricultural practices, complemented by ancient starch analysis to investigate the speculated use of USOs, nuts, and fruits with possible economic significance.
The results indicate that plant subsistence in Neolithic Taiwan was centered on rice and millets introduced from southeast coast of China, supplemented by other introduced taxa including Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Triticeae grasses, mung bean (Vigna radiata), and muskmelon (Cucumis melo). Native nuts, fruits, and limited USOs were also exploited through foraging. Overall, the evidence points to a flexible, regionally varied economy based on dryland cultivation, mixed cropping, and small-scale garden management, rather than irrigated or arboricultural systems.
Another key finding is that the diversity of plant taxa across different regions of Taiwan reflects multiple introductions of distinct cultivars. This suggests a complex pattern of migration and interaction, with external communities bringing new crops to different parts of Taiwan at different times. At the same time, people continued to explore their surroundings and exploit local plant resources such as acorns of Urai tanoak (Limlia uraiana), water caltrop (Trapa sp.), wild soybeans (Glycine sp.), and possibly wild azuki beans (Vigna angularis). Consequently, Neolithic plant subsistence and agriculture in Taiwan were not based on a uniform set of introduced taxa. They became increasingly diverse from the Early to Late Neolithic, integrating both newly introduced cultivars and locally available species into flexible and adaptive subsistence systems.
The other element of this thesis investigates how far the influence of plant subsistence in Neolithic Taiwan, the theorized “Austronesian Homeland” (Blust, 1984–85), was carried to new frontiers beyond Taiwan, encompassing both managed cultivars and agricultural practices. Comparing the plant food repertoire in Neolithic Taiwan with taxa reconstructed from Proto-Austronesian lexicons or Lapita archaeobotanical studies reveals limited overlap. There is also no evidence for the cultivation of USOs, arboriculture, or the management of tree crops and tree-like perennial herbs in Neolithic Taiwan, in contrast to Oceanic plant management systems. These results suggest that key Pacific cultigens—such as aroids (genera Colocasia, Alocasia and Cyrtosperma), yams (Dioscorea spp.), banana (Musaceae), and breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)— were integrated into the Austronesian plant food repertoire later, as populations expanded southward into tropical regions where these crops were already in use and, in some cases, locally managed. What left Taiwan, therefore, was not a fixed package of plants but agricultural knowledge and adaptive practices that facilitated the incorporation of new resources into Island Southeast Asian and Pacific economies.
As the first holistic study of Neolithic plant subsistence in Taiwan, this research moves beyond the long-standing cereal-centered paradigm to present a more diversified picture of prehistoric economies. It identifies multiple sources of introduced cultivars and cultivation practices from Neolithic China. It also contributes new insights into the early Austronesian use and management of diverse plant resources with their highly adaptive practices across varied landscapes. By integrating these findings with broader archaeological and linguistic debates, the study clarifies Taiwan’s role in shaping the pathways of agricultural expansion and the subsistence strategies that supported Austronesian migrations into Island Southeast Asia and Oceania.