Sketching the prehistorical picture
The discovery of the Shihsanhang site is doubtless a major event in Taiwan's history as it goes a long way toward clarifying the prehistorical background of these islands.
From the evidence unearthed by archeology we can get an idea of the everyday life of the Shihsanhang people, living in intimate contact with nature, more than a thousand years ago. For example, their main food was rice and besides the cultivation of this staple, they hunted in the mountains, caught fish, lobsters and shrimp, and gathered shellfish in and alongside the Tanshui River. In other words, they fully utilized the abundant resources available in the big river mouth and in the mountains and forests. They would throw away what they didn't eat at specific spots. These form what archeologists refer to as "kjokkenmodding" or "kitchen middens."
From the discovery of pottery vessels decorated with weaving patterns it can be assumed that the prehistoric people of Shihsanhang people were able to use simple tools to make clothing. The clothing itself has disintegrated in the graves and there is no way of knowing what colors or styles were used. The people lived in houses built on posts high above ground to avoid getting wet and as a protection against animal interlopers. These are referred to as "stilt houses" by scholars, and houses of this type of construction could once be seen in the villages of all Taiwan's Aboriginal peoples.
Because the Shihsanhang people traveled to and from the southeast China coast and to various places in the South Pacific, imported pottery, bronze artifacts, Han coins, glass marbles, etc., are also to be found at the site. Furthermore, craft techniques were well developed. Not only were they able to smelt iron and use it to make a variety of items for use in everyday life, but they acquired items from other groups through trade. They were also able to produce high-quality and finely decorated ceramic pots, and bowls. And they had the leisure time to create ceramic figurines of humans and animals.
The graves show that the Shihsanhang people buried their dead lying on their side, knees bent. The body was usually positioned with the head to the southwest, perhaps for cultural or religious reasons. Pottery, pearl ornaments, and gold objects accompanied the body in the grave. Based on studies of the skeletal remains, it seems clear that the Shihsanhang people were the direct ancestors of the native peoples of Taiwan. They, too, liked to chew betel nuts and tobacco leaves, and to chat and eat while squatting.
Although the cultural artifacts unearthed so far have revealed a good deal of information, still many mysteries remain. For example, why did the Shihsanhang people suddenly disappear after living here for a thousand years or more? But from the arrangement of the graves, and the close connection between pottery type and customs, scholars postulate an extremely close relationship between the people of Shihsanhang and the Ketagalan, and consider them most likely to be the ancestors of the Ketagalan. But the definitive answer here will have to await a DNA analysis of the unearthed human bones.
So at land's end, where the great Tanshui River enters the sea, in Pali on the river's left bank stands the Shihsanhang Museum of Archeology. Here, from the eight-sided "out-of-kilter" pavilion with walls that stand 17 degrees away from the vertical, we can climb the whale back-shaped radiating steel platform and enjoy the cool breezes. To the one side we can take in the distant indigo Tanshui River mouth, and on the other, we contemplate the lush blue-greens of Mt. Kuanyin and the archeological sites. We think back to the early people here-sweating, smelting iron, with the know-how to carry out high-temperature pottery firing, and one page in the thousand-year story of these prehistoric people gradually opens to our understanding.
(far left) Nearly 200 complete graves have been found at the Shihsanhang site.
(center) By displaying actual artifacts the museum helps visitors visualize the lifestyle of the Shihsanhang people.
Iron slag, pottery shards, shells and other artifacts are still to be found at the site, located between the Shihsanhang Museum and the Pali Wastewater Treatment Plant.
This glass earring from one of the graves was probably imported from China's southeast coast or from South Asia, according to experts.
History and Philology succeeded in partially saving the Shihsanhang site.