Prehistoric relics make public debut in Miaoli

2015-03-06

An assortment of relics recovered from an expressway construction site in northern Taiwan’s Miaoli County were publicly unveiled March 4, shedding new light on Neolithic life on the island.

Comprising everyday items, as well as pottery fragments and stone axes, the 3,000-year-old artifacts were unearthed during a Directorate-General of Highways-commissioned dig starting last October.

According to Archaeo Cultures Co. Ltd., the firm responsible for carrying out the project, the 24,000-square-meter-plus Dianziwo site was discovered in 1993 by a Miaoli local.

“Based on stone objects found in 2009 under a county government-sponsored survey, scholars believe the site is part of the Hongmaogang culture system,” Archaeo President Chu Cheng-yi said. “The items also show that people from this time possessed the requisite skills for agriculture, fishing and food preservation.”

Although further analysis needs to be carried out, Chu said preliminary evidence suggests the artifacts were more closely linked to the prehistoric cultural system of central Taiwan than that of northern Taiwan, underscoring the importance of the site as a junction between the two.

“Excavation work is set for completion by the end of April, with all findings forwarded to the county government after they are accurately dated.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=227955&CtNode=413)