Taiwan and the Prehistory of the Austronesian-Speaking Peoples

Abstract

Since I commenced my research more than 40 years ago into the genesis of Austronesian -speaking populations, there have been remarkable strides in our understanding of the relevant Neolithic archaeological record, especially in Taiwan and the northern Philippines. There have also been major advances in comparative linguistics and human genetics, the latter with its increasing focus on whole genomic autosomal comparisons and, where available, ancient DNA. One result is that the role of Taiwan as a major source region for early Austronesian migration has been strengthened, while many opposing theories have failed to find support. However, the "reality" of Austronesian dispersal was obviously very complex, and many fine details will never be known to us. Extreme theories, that focus on the one hand only on population replacement of indigenous hunter-gatherer groups by incoming Austronesian speakers, or on the other hand only on cultural diffusion and language shift into unmoving indigenous populations, can no longer be entertained. The situation clearly involved an expanding population that spoke early forms of Austronesian and Malayo-Polynesian languages, with a Taiwan and southern Chinese ultimate source, one that admixed in many ways with indigenous populations already present, except in the uninhabited Oceanic islands beyond the Solomons where Austronesians were the first humans to arrive. The task before us is to understand the many regional variations in what was to become one of the most dramatic population migrations in human history.