It 6:45pm on the evening of Tuesday, July 24, over NT$2 million worth of Taiwanese history quite literally went up in smoke when a fire broke out in an exhibition hall on the second floor of the National Museum of Prehistory (國立台灣史前博物館).
The institute, which is located on the outskirts of Taitung City, is the nation's first such museum to focus on the human element of Taiwan's prehistoric cultures. It took 11 years from the initial planning stage to completion and cost NT$3.7 million. The museum had only opened its doors to the public two weeks earlier on July 10.
Even before the cinders had time to cool, fingers were pointed and questions raised about the cause of the catastrophic blaze.
One of the most popular theories bandied about in the local press blamed sloppy workmanship during construction for the blaze, a suggestion museum authorities have denied.
After a thorough examination, fire investigation teams and local officials now concur that the fire was the result of faulty electrical circuits. Some people suggest this may have been due to rushed work so the museum could open on schedule.
Although museum officials remain reluctant to name the company that was responsible for the museum's electrical system, they have confirmed that the company has agreed to correct the problem.
"After the investigation revealed the causes of the blaze, the company concerned came forward without hesitation and is now working on a new electrical system," says Liu Shih-lung (劉世龍), of the museum's research and education department. "Contrary to what some of the local news channels reported, there won't be any high profile court case looking for someone to blame. It was an accident and that is that."
In all, 55 exhibits were destroyed in the blaze, which gutted two of the museum's largest exhibition halls displaying artifacts and objects from Taiwan's Austronesian inhabitants.
While the loss of all the exhibits was a huge blow to the museum, the devastation caused to an exhibition hall displaying artifacts of the Yami tribe (雅美族) was the costliest. The Yami are an Aboriginal tribe indigenous to Orchid Island (蘭嶼), and four traditional Yami fishing boats, the centerpiece of the museum's collection, proved the biggest loss.
One of these vessels, a colorfully painted twelve seat fishing boat, cost the museum over NT$600,000 and cannot be replaced. It was the only such vessel in Taiwan.
According to the museum's director, Chen Yi-yi (陳義一), while traditional Yami boats in reasonable condition can still be found in Taiwan, they are relatively scarce. The reason is that most Yami boat-builders ceased to ply their trade many years ago and now the only people with the necessary skills are too elderly to undertake such demanding projects.
Other artifacts destroyed include pots, utensils, hunting equipment and examples of clothing from the Rukai (魯凱族) and the Painan tribes (卑南族) .
While insurance agents and the museum's management are now engaged in a debate over the monetary value of the pieces destroyed, for anthropologists such as Liu, no amount of money can replace the loss.
"You can say it was worth so much money and that we will be compensated for the loss, but when you look at the fishing boats we had on display, these are irreplaceable," says Liu. "Sure you can say we paid this much cash for the piece, but in a way such talk is pretty obscene. You shouldn't have to put a price on the nation's history."
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