Archaeologists are surprised that Taiwan possessed such a large-scale and advanced society at so early a date. They are currently trying to work out how the community was established, and why it disappeared. In particular, the discovery of the site, largest of its kind ever found in Taiwan, may throw some light on the relationship between the early inhabitants of the island and their contemporaries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The find was made by chance by workers constructing the South Bend Railway between Taitung and Kaohsiung. As soon as they unearthed the stone coffins, the Taitung County Government ordered a halt to the work until the relics could be examined. The government immediately appropriated funds and asked students of the department of archaeology of the National Taiwan University to complete the research task.

Head of the archaeological team, Prof. Sung Wen-hsun, is a leading authority on Taiwan's prehistoric cultures. Students who volunteered to help him were eager to do the work, even though they had to face exposure to the elements and were only paid NT$100 (US$2.65) a day. The work started in early September and continued for 17 days until the students had to go back to school. The 13-member team returned Oct. 13 to continue the work during the mid-term holidays. They excavated the site all day under Prof. Sung's supervision, and at night, they stood on guard to prevent thefts.

So far, the team has unearthed 128 stone coffins, 1,274 stone utensils and a large quantity of jade articles, pottery, human remains and building materials. The professor estimates, however, that the discoveries so far represent only a small part of the total.

Many curious people followed the work team to the remote area of Peinan, believing a treasure hunt was under way. Prof. Sung, however, considers that the main value of the objects is not their market price, but rather the light they shed on an ancient culture.

After cataloguing the items they discovered, the workers handed them over to the Provincial Government, which paid for the project, and according to the laws of the Republic of China, is the rightful owner of all archaeological finds in Taiwan.

Of all the unearthed objects, the 128 stone coffins are regarded as being the most interesting. They were found side by side close to the walls of the houses at the site, implying that people of the time customarily buried their dead in their homes. It is believed to be a coincidence that aborigines who later settled in Taiwan also buried their dead under their homes.

The coffins are in various sizes, the biggest being 1.8 meters long, and made of 37 pieces of slate, while the smallest is only 27 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide. The preponderance of small coffins, presumably for children, would seem to indicate that mortality was high at the time. Some of the larger coffins were found under smaller ones, a sign that "double burials" resembling those formerly practiced on the mainland, were also customary among the Peinan people. In the Honan region on the mainland, if a fortune teller said a man should be buried twice, then his coffin was usually placed under a smaller one.

Most of the stone coffins found at Peinan are made of slate in the shape of a trapezoidal box, with the head always placed to the south. Since slate is not found in the Peinan area, it is believed the material was brought from the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan. If this is the case, then the people of the time must have had some fairly advanced form of transportation. The slate, however, crumbles so easily that few of the human remains are preserved.

The jade articles found at the burial site seem to indicate that the Peinan people attached great importance to funerals. These objects can be divided into three main types, rings with a small segment taken out, hairpins and beads pierced with small holes for stringing. The jade rings were always placed close to the head of the coffin, and carved on the outside--some had four prominent protuberances, while others did not. Said Prof. Sung: "The rings with protuberances have been found all over Taiwan as well as in the southeastern Philippines, and the Malay and Indochinese Penisula, while those without such distinguishing marks have been found along the coast of the Chinese mainland and in Korea and Japan. The juxtaposition of these two types of jade articles makes it difficult to ascertain the origins of the Peinan culture."

The stone knives found at the site are highly polished, and the pottery shards near and inside the stone coffins are believed to have been the remains of utensils containing food for the dead. The unpainted pieces closely resemble those found at Lungshan on the Chinese mainland.

The thick walls of the houses contain 20-centimeter wide holes to hold the lateral beams used to support the roof. Inside the houses, rocks were found everywhere, and the working team also detected traces of fire.

Prehistoric remains found in southeastern Taiwan are of the Changpin, Chilin and Peinan cultures. Prof. Sung pointed out, however, that there is no proven relationship among the three, nor is there any established link with the 10 aborigine tribes existing in Taiwan today. The name "Peinan Culture" was taken from Peinan district of Taitung County, and not from the Peinan aborigine tribe.

The Taitung County Government has mapped out a plan to build an outdoor museum covering an area of 36,000 square feet. Large objects such as coffins and remains of houses will be kept at the museum while smaller items such as jade rings and hairpins will be removed to a safer place and replaced with plastic replicas. The original conditions at the site will be preserved as far as possible.

The museum is expected to be completed within six years, at a location near Mt. Liyu in Taitung County. It is believed that it will bring a boom to tourism in eastern Taiwan, and also enrich people's knowledge of the island's ancient culture.

[Picture Caption]

1. Members of the archaeological team, formed by students of the Archaeology Department of the National Taiwan University, working at the site. 2. Prof. Sung Wen-hsun, leader of the archaeological team, is a renowned archaeologist in Taiwan. 3. By using bulldozers the team expects the project can be completed at an early date.

1. The discovery of small coffins has been taken as a sign of high mortality at the time. 2. Carefully recording, drawing, photographing and numbering unearthed articles are an important part of the project. 3. The discovery of a large number of stone coffins caused the team to step up their efforts.

1. 2. Since the coffins are made up of slate, which easily crumbles, most of the bones inside are in an advanced state of decay. 3. All the unpainted pottery pieces were used to hold food for the deceased. 4. All the articles in this picture were found in one coffin. It is evident that people at the time believed funerals to be important. 5. From these broken stone knives it can be assessed that cutting and polishing skills were high during the period.

1. At the site of the relics, stone walls such as these can be found everywhere. 2. Stone coffins were found under the stone walls of the residential area, which proves that burying the dead in houses was a custom of the time. 3. Although only paid NT$100 a day, members of the team worked hard, enduring hot sun and rain. 4. Prof. Sung directing students to arrange the unearthed articles systematically.

Prof. Sung Wen-hsun, leader of the archaeological team, is a renowned archaeologist in Taiwan.

By using bulldozers the team expects the project can be completed at an early date.

The discovery of small coffins has been taken as a sign of high mortality at the time.

Carefully recording, drawing, photographing and numbering unearthed articles are an important part of the project.

The discovery of a large number of stone coffins caused the team to step up their efforts.

Since the coffins are made up of slate, which easily crumbles, most of the bones inside are in an advanced state of decay.

Since the coffins are made up of slate, which easily crumbles, most of the bones inside are in an advanced state of decay.

All the unpainted pottery pieces were used to hold food for the deceased.

All the articles in this picture were found in one coffin. It is evident that people at the time believed funerals to be important.

From these broken stone knives it can be assessed that cutting and polishing skills were high during the period.

At the site of the relics, stone walls such as these can be found everywhere.

Stone coffins were found under the stone walls of the residential area, which proves that burying the dead in houses was a custom of the time.

Although only paid NT$100 a day, members of the team worked hard, enduring hot sun and rain.

Prof. Sung directing students to arrange the unearthed articles systematically.