Social Sciences in China, 2021

Vol. 42, No. 1, 2021

Archaeology of Southeast China and the Search for an Austronesian Homeland

(Abstract)

Tianlong Jiao

Widely recognized as the ultimate homeland of the Austronesians, Southeast China’s archaeological records bear direct implications for understanding the chronology, seafaring and the impetus of the proto-Austronesian expansions. The available evidence demonstrates that as early as 8300 BP, the ancestors of the Austronesians started to explore the offshore islands in Southeast China. By 5000 BP, with the breakthrough of long-distance seafaring skills, a substantial population started to colonize the island of Taiwan. Maritime subsistence pattern and the seafaring served as the primary impetus for the earliest Austronesian dispersals.

Keywords: Austronesians, archaeology, Southeast China, Neolithic