Replicas of Liang Island (亮島) fossils, two ancient human skeletons excavated from Taiwan’s outlying Matsu archipelago in Lienchiang County, went on display in Taipei yesterday.
“The Liang Islander and Prehistoric Culture of Matsu Islands” exhibition at the National Museum of History features replicas of the skeletons, as well as tools made from animal bones, pottery and stoneware discovered at the same site as the skeletons.
The museum said it hopes the exhibition, which is to run until Jan. 25, will help visitors gain a deeper understanding of the cultures of the Matsu islands.
In late 2011, an archeological team from Academia Sinica discovered a skeleton at a historic site on Liang Island, one of several islets that comprise the Matsu archipelago off the coast of China’s Fujian Province.
The skeleton was dated at 8,200 years old and was named “Liang Islander No. 1.”
In July 2012, another skeleton, dubbed “Liang Islander No. 2,” was discovered at the same site and is believed to be 7,590 to 7,530 years old.
The two skeletons are the oldest human fossils discovered in an area that stretches from Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea to the Vietnamese coast.
According to DNA biochemistry analysis, the Liang Islanders were related to Austronesian people, who were dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including Taiwan and the Philippines.
The discovery of the skeletons is said to be one of the most significant archeological finds in Taiwan in recent years and sheds new light on pre-Austronesian culture and the dispersal of people in the region.
Public access to Liang Island was prohibited until 2011, when a ceremony was held there to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) army’s arrival on the island.
Then-Lienchiang County commissioner Yang Sui-sheng (楊綏生) at the time noticed what looked like seashell mounds along the roadside and informed Academia Sinica, which sent the team that uncovered the human remains and artifacts.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS