Taiwan digs up its oldest civilization

Reuters ^ | Friday, July 24, 2009 | Ralph Jennings, editing by David Fox

[SunkenCiv]

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered what the believe is the island's oldest civilization, dating back about 20,000 years and belonging to a pygmy-like people that came from China, Southeast Asia or beyond, the team leader said on Friday.

Taiwan's government-run Academia Sinica, which found more than 200 stone tools at the Ba Hsien Cave excavation site on the island's east coast, will return next year to seek clues on who was living there, leader Tsang Chen-hua said.

The civilization was probably a dark-skinned people similar to Negritos, a term that covers several ethnic groups of short stature in isolated parts of Southeast Asia, Tsang said. Their exact origin and migration route in Asia remain a mystery.

"Where they're from is a good question. We propose saying they're Negritos, but we haven't found a human skull yet," Tsang said. "We need to go back to see if they're from China or the Indochinese peninsula."

Taiwan's Negritos, who once numbered as many as 90,000 but are now extinct, may have reached Taiwan from Madagascar via the islands of Southeast Asia, some scholars say.

Others believe they came via China, 160 km (100 miles) away across the Taiwan Strait.

Ethnic Chinese people are Taiwan's racial majority today.

[SunkenCiv]

I've got the promo sample from the following, and McWhorter spends a bit of time discussing the languages from offshore SE Asia, and how they appear to have originated on Taiwan.

Story of Human Language, Course No. 1600
Taught by John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute, Ph.D., Stanford University

[SunkenCiv]

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[Perdogg]

The native history in Hawaii comes from Taiwan.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Perdogg.

[Monterrosa-24]

“Civilization” means a culture that has/had a written language. These barbarians may have had a great culture and may have been great people but they were not a civilization.

[Tainan]

true...it started out as camouflage...

[SunkenCiv]

Literally, civilization refers to building of cities. But I didn’t write the headline either.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)