Aude Favereau
Metal period pottery assemblages from Southeast Asia and Taiwan, a possible link?
ABSTRACT
In around the 4th century BC, prehistoric Taiwan entered the Iron Age, which took place earlier in eastern Taiwan and later in western Taiwan. One of the significant transitions in this period is the presence of glass beads from archaeological sites. Scientific analysis has shown that these glass beads, bright and monochrome, were imported through the South China Sea network, and are predominantly of a m-Na-Al or v-Na-Ca chemical composition. However, the results also suggest that the inter-regional exchange of glass beads in Taiwan was not intensive. In general, the typology of glass beads in northern and northeastern Taiwan shows difference from those in other regions. For the Sanhe Culture in southeastern Taiwan and Guishan Culture in southern Taiwan, the material cultures of which suggest certain degrees of similarity, the chemical composition and microstructure of glass do not support a similar origin of glass beads. In southwestern Taiwan, although the chemical composition of glass beads varies between sites of different chronology, the colour distribution is mostly dominated by blue beads. Taken together the mortuary practice and cultural differences, these results suggest the diverse sources of exchanging glass beads in different regions between Taiwan and the South China Sea network. Within Taiwan, glass beads were regarded as prestige goods and therefore the re-exchange was probably restricted in particular region, within cultures or between societies. On the other hand, it also shows the possibility of the complicated and localised regional interaction in this period in Taiwan, and an integrated study of the relationship between different cultures and societies will help to understand the picture.