Editing History of Taiwan (section)

==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistory of Taiwan}}
{{See also|Austronesian peoples}}
{{location map+|Taiwan|caption=Taiwan, with early sites, and the {{convert|abbr=on|130|km|mi|adj=mid|-wide|0}} Taiwan Strait|AlternativeMap=Taiwan relief location map.png|width=200|float=right|places=
  {{location map~|Taiwan|lat_deg=26.338889|lon_deg=120.22|position=bottom|label_size=75|mark=Brown pog.svg|label=Liang Island}}
  {{location map~|Taiwan|lat_deg=23.02|lon_deg=120.42|position=left|label_size=75|mark=Brown pog.svg|label=Zuojhen}}
  {{location map~|Taiwan|lat_deg=23.32|lon_deg=121.45|position=bottom|label_size=75|mark=Brown pog.svg|label=Changbin}}
  {{location map~|Taiwan|lat_deg=21.9|lon_deg=120.85|position=right|label_size=75|mark=Brown pog.svg|label=Eluanbi}}
  {{location map~|Taiwan|lat_deg=25.15|lon_deg=121.4|position=top|label_size=75|mark=Orange pog.svg|label=Dapenkeng}}
}}
In the [[Late Pleistocene]], sea levels were about {{convert|140|m}} lower than at present, exposing the floor of the shallow [[Taiwan Strait]] as a land bridge.{{sfnp|Chang|1989}} A concentration of [[vertebrate]] fossils has been found in the channel between the Penghu Islands and Taiwan, including a partial jawbone designated [[Penghu 1]], apparently belonging to a previously unknown species of genus ''[[Homo]]'', dated 450,000 to 190,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal
  | title=The first archaic ''Homo'' from Taiwan
  | given1=Chun-Hsiang | surname1=Chang | given2=Yousuke | surname2=Kaifu
  | given3=Masanaru | surname3=Takai | given4=Reiko T. | surname4=Kono
  | given5=Rainer | surname5=Grün | given6=Shuji | surname6=Matsu'ura
  | given7=Les | surname7=Kinsley | given8=Liang-Kong | surname8=Lin
  | journal=Nature Communications | volume=6 | number=6037 | year=2015 | doi=10.1038/ncomms7037 | pmid=25625212 | pmc=4316746 | page=6037
| bibcode=2015NatCo...6.6037C }}</ref> The oldest evidence of modern human presence on Taiwan consists of fragments and a tooth found at Chouqu and Gangzilin, in [[Zuojhen District]], estimated to be between 20,000 and 30,000 years old.{{sfnp|Olsen|Miller-Antonio|1992}}<ref>[http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=1168 Zuozhen Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120715063057/http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=1168 |date=2012-07-15 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Taiwan''.</ref> The oldest artefacts are chipped-pebble tools of the [[Paleolithic]] [[Changbin culture]] found in [[Changbin, Taitung]], dated 15,000 to 5,000 years ago. The same culture is found at sites at [[Eluanbi]] on the southern tip of Taiwan, persisting until 5,000 years ago.{{sfnp|Jiao|2007|pp=89–90}}<ref>[http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=1170 Changbin Culture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503154631/http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=1170 |date=2014-05-03 }}, ''Encyclopedia of Taiwan''.</ref> Analysis of [[spore]]s and [[pollen]] grains in [[sediment]] of [[Sun Moon Lake]] suggests that traces of [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture started in the area 11,000 years ago, and ended 4,200 years ago, when abundant remains of [[rice cultivation]] were found.<ref name="li_2011">{{cite book |author1={{lang|zh-tw|李壬癸}} [ [[Li Jen-kuei|Li, Paul Jen-kuei]] ] |script-title=zh:台灣南島民族的族群與遷徙 |trans-title=The Ethnic Groups and Dispersal of the Austronesian in Taiwan |date=Jan 2011 |publisher={{lang|zh-tw|前衛出版社}} [Avanguard Publishing House] |location=Taipei |isbn=978-957-801-660-6 |pages=46, 48 |edition=Revised |ref=li_2011 |script-chapter=zh:1. 台灣土著民族的來源 |trans-chapter=1. Origins of Taiwan Aborigines |script-quote=zh:根據張光直(1969)...9,000BC起...大量種植稻米的遺跡 |trans-quote=[[Kwang-chih Chang|Chang, Kwang-chih]] (1969): ...traces of slash-and-burn agriculture since 9,000BC... remains of rice cultivation}}</ref> At the beginning of the [[Holocene]] 10,000 years ago, sea levels rose, forming the Taiwan Strait and cutting off the island from the Asian mainland.{{sfnp|Chang|1989}}

In 2011, the ~8,000-year-old Liangdao Man skeleton was found on [[Liang Island]].<ref name="Ko2014">{{cite journal |title=Early Austronesians: into and out of Taiwan |given1=Albert Min-Shan |surname1=Ko |given2=Chung-Yu |surname2=Chen |given3=Qiaomei |surname3=Fu |given4=Frederick |surname4=Delfin |given5=Mingkun |surname5=Li |given6=Hung-Lin |surname6=Chiu |given7=Mark |surname7=Stoneking |given8=Ying-Chin |surname8=Ko |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=426–436 |year=2014 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.02.003 |pmid=24607387 |pmc=3951936 |quote=The Liangdao Man skeletal remains were discovered on the Liang Island of the Matsu archipelago in December 2011 and transported to the Matsu Folklore Museum. Matsu is located on the Min River estuary, 24 km from Fujian and 180 km northwest of Taiwan }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Resolving the ancestry of Austronesian-speaking populations |given1=Pedro A. |surname1=Soares |given2=Jean A. |surname2=Trejaut |given3=Teresa |surname3=Rito |given4=Bruno |surname4=Cavadas |given5=Catherine |surname5=Hill |given6=Ken Khong |surname6=Eng |given7=Maru |surname7=Mormina |given8=Andreia |surname8=Brandão |given9=Ross M. |surname9=Fraser |given10=Tse-Yi |surname10=Wang |given11=Jun-Hun |surname11=Loo |given12=Christopher |surname12=Snell |given13=Tsang-Ming |surname13=Ko |given14=António |surname14=Amorim |given15=Maria |surname15=Pala |given16=Vincent |surname16=Macaulay |given17=David |surname17=Bulbeck |given18=James F. |surname18=Wilson |given19=Leonor |surname19=Gusmão |given20=Luísa |surname20=Pereira |given21=Stephen |surname21=Oppenheimer |given22=Marie |surname22=Lin |given23=Martin B. |surname23=Richards |journal=Human Genetics |year=2016 |volume=135 |issue=3 |pages=309–326 |doi=10.1007/s00439-015-1620-z |pmid=26781090 |pmc=4757630 }}</ref> The only Paleolithic burial that has been found on Taiwan was in [[Chenggong, Taitung|Chenggong]] in the southeast, dating from about 4000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal
  | title = Female craniometrics support the 'two‑layer model' of human dispersal in Eastern Eurasia
  | given1 = Hirofumi | surname1 = Matsumura
  | given2 = Guangmao | surname2 = Xie
  | given3 = Lan Cuong | surname3 = Nguyen
  | given4 = Tsunehiko | surname4 = Hanihara
  | given5 = Zhen | surname5 = Li
  | given6 = Khanh Trung Kien | surname6 = Nguyen6
  | given7 = Xuan Tinh | surname7 = Ho
  | given8 = Thi Nga | surname8 = Nguyen
  | given9 = Shih‑Chiang | surname9 = Huang
  | given10 = Hsiao‑chun | surname10 = Hung
  | journal = Scientific Reports | year = 2021 | volume = 11 | number = 20830
  | page = 20830 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-021-00295-6 | pmid = 34675295 | pmc = 8531373 | bibcode = 2021NatSR..1120830M | doi-access = free
}} pp. 5–9.</ref>

Around 3,000 BC, the Neolithic [[Dapenkeng culture]] abruptly appeared and quickly spread around the coast. Their sites are characterised by corded-ware pottery, polished stone adzes and slate points. The inhabitants cultivated rice and millet, but were also heavily reliant on marine shells and fish. Most scholars believe this culture is not derived from the Changbin culture, but was brought across the Strait by the ancestors of today's [[Taiwanese aborigines]], speaking early [[Austronesian languages]].{{sfnp|Jiao|2007|pp=91–94}}<ref>[https://archive.today/20120715085126/http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=1172 Tapenkeng Site], ''Encyclopedia of Taiwan''.</ref> Some of these people later migrated from Taiwan to the islands of Southeast Asia and throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
[[Malayo-Polynesian languages]] are now spoken across a huge area, but form only one branch of the Austronesian family, the rest of whose branches are found only on Taiwan.{{sfnp|Blust|1999}}{{sfnp|Diamond|2000}}{{sfnp|Hill|Soares|Mormina|Macaulay|2007}}{{sfnp|Bird|Hope|Taylor|2004}}
Trade links with the [[Philippines|Philippine archipelago]] continued from the early 2nd millennium BC, including the use of [[jade]] from eastern Taiwan in the [[Philippine jade culture]].{{sfnp|Bellwood|Hung|Iizuka|2011|pp=35–37, 41}}

The Dapenkeng culture was succeeded by a variety of cultures throughout the island, including the [[Tahu culture|Tahu]] and [[Yingpu culture|Yingpu]].
Iron appeared in such cultures as the [[Niaosung Culture]].{{sfnp|Jiao|2007|pp=94–103}}
The earliest metal artifacts were trade goods, but by around 400 AD [[wrought iron]] was being produced locally using [[bloomery|bloomeries]], a technology possibly introduced from the [[Philippines]].{{sfnp|Tsang|2000}}