Feb. 24, 2022
Bonus Mini-Episode: Eryk Calls John for a Chat About Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples
When did people first get to Taiwan? Was there a land bridge? Plus... a few interesting legends. A short phone call that's a fun intro to Taiwan’s prehistory.
Cover image: Rukai Chief on a visit to the Department of Anthropology atTokyo Imperial University in January 1900 (during Japanese rule 1895-1945).
(Via Wikimedia Commons/Ryūzō Torii
Below: A hybrid of ancestor worship customs from a small group of indigenous people in the mountains of Liu Gui, Kaohsiung. These people are not formally recognized as a 'tribe' and say they do not remember much of their native language -- a good example of how so many cultures have been lost or assimilated since Han Chinese and westerners began settling in Taiwan some 400 years ago.
(Photo by Eryk Michael Smith)
Below: The approximate Native Taiwanese tribal area borders from a (reportedly) 1950s-era assessment.
