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| Changbin culture | |
|---|---|
| Name | Changbin culture |
| Period | Neolithic |
| Dates | c. 5000–2000 BCE |
| Region | eastern Taiwan, northeastern Taiwan |
| Major sites | Nanguang, Fengbitou, Daxi, Beinan |
| Preceded by | Dapenkeng culture |
| Followed by | Siraya culture |
Changbin culture is a prehistoric Neolithic archaeological culture identified in northeastern Taiwan and adjacent coastal zones dating roughly to the mid-to-late Holocene. Excavations and surveys have associated Changbin material assemblages with distinctive lithic industries, shell midden deposits, and coastal settlement patterns that contribute to debates about Holocene migration, maritime adaptation, and Austronesian prehistory. The culture is known from a series of sites that have produced rich faunal, botanical, and artifact records informing models of population interaction between Taiwan, the northern Philippines, and southeastern China.
The Changbin cultural complex is documented primarily along the northeastern Taiwan coastline, with sites concentrated in present-day Hualien County, Taitung County, and scattered finds in Yilan County. Major localities include the Changbin shell midden sequence near Fengbin Township, the Beinan Basin assemblages in Taitung City, the Daxi deposits near Hualien City, and outlying loci documented during surveys by the National Museum of Prehistory (Taiwan). Coastal cave sites, offshore islets, and estuarine contexts have been central to defining the geographic range; comparative analyses invoke connections with material traditions from the Yilan Plain, the northern Philippines, and the southeast coast of Fujian Province. Scholars affiliated with institutions such as Academia Sinica, the National Taiwan University, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología (comparative studies) have emphasized maritime corridors and resource-rich littoral zones in mapping Changbin extent.
Radiocarbon determinations and stratigraphic correlations place Changbin-related deposits predominantly in the Holocene sequence spanning approximately 5000–2000 BCE, overlapping chronologically with regional sequences like the Dapenkeng culture and later interacting with entities linked to the Beinan culture and early historic groups. Periodization schemes divide Changbin phases based on shell midden stratigraphy, lithic typology, and pottery horizons recovered at sites such as Nanguang and Fengbitou. Cross-dating with obsidian hydration studies referencing sources in Green Island (Lutao) and trace element sourcing to Kueishantao has refined temporal models and suggested episodic contacts with Neolithic networks stretching to the Ryukyu Islands and the Visayas archipelago.
Changbin settlements are characterized by coastal shell middens, rock-shelter occupations, and open-air hamlets located on raised beach terraces and riverine floodplains. Excavations at the Fengbin shell middens and Daxi shoreline sites reveal spatial clustering of hearth features, posthole patterns, and storage pits analogous to contemporary assemblages from the Luzon and Batanes islands. Architectural inferences draw on botanic remains and posthole dimensions compared with ethnographic parallels from Amis (Pangcah) and Austronesian house types documented by researchers at National Museum of Ethnology (Japan). Burial contexts occasionally found in proximity to habitation areas invoke comparisons with mortuary deposits in the Beinan Site and ritualized interments recorded in the Taiwanese prehistoric sequence.
Artifact assemblages include shell ornaments, ground and polished stone adzes, flaked lithics, pottery sherds with cord-marked and plain surfaces, and imported obsidian tools. Shell beads and pendant fragments recovered from sites such as Beinan and Nanguang align with ornament styles attested in the Philippine Neolithic and the Lapita-associated sphere in Austronesian dispersal discussions. Pottery typologies, though less ubiquitous than in continental sequences, show links to coeval Dapenkeng fabrics and later beadwork traditions documented by scholars at Museology Research Center (Taiwan). Lithic raw material sourcing implicates exploitation of Green Island obsidian and alluvial cobbles from the Hualien River, while microblade and scraper forms invite parallels with assemblages from Fujian and the Liuqiu archipelago.
Faunal and botanical remains indicate a maritime-oriented provisioning economy emphasizing shellfish, fish, seal and marine turtle exploitation, supplemented by wild boar and deer hunting in hinterland woodlands. Stable isotope analyses from human remains excavated at Beinan and Fengbin suggest a diet heavy in marine protein, consistent with shell midden species lists that include Trochus, Littorinidae, and bivalves. Evidence for early horticulture is debated: charred seed fragments and phytoliths recovered during excavation at Daxi and Nanguang have been variously identified as wild grass, taro-like taxa, or domesticated cultivars paralleling assemblages from the Northeast India and Philippines Neolithic. Technological innovations include specialized shell-working techniques, groundstone tool production, and boat-related implements inferred from net sinkers and bone hooks comparable to those from Batanes and Ryukyu contexts.
Interpretations of social complexity rely on mortuary variability, artifact distribution, and ornament richness. Some Changbin burials display differential grave goods—shell ornaments, polished adzes, and pigment traces—suggesting status differentiation and long-distance exchange networks that echo patterns seen in the Beinan Site and early Austronesian polities. Shell middens themselves may have acquired ritual significance, with structured deposition and repeated burning episodes paralleling ceremonial landscapes described in ethnographic records of the Amis and archaeological studies from the Luzon Strait. Rock-art motifs and pigment residues recovered from coastal shelters have been compared with symbolic repertoires in Ryukyu and Southeast Asian prehistoric contexts.
Systematic investigation of Changbin-related sites began in the mid-20th century with regional surveys by researchers affiliated with Taiwan Provincial Museum and expanded through collaborations involving Academia Sinica, National Museum of Prehistory (Taiwan), and international teams from institutions such as University of Hawaii at Mānoa and University of Tokyo. Landmark excavations at Fengbin, Beinan, and Daxi produced the core chronostratigraphic data; subsequent radiocarbon, isotopic, and archaeobotanical studies conducted by laboratories at National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica refined subsistence and chronology models. Ongoing research emphasizes high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstruction, obsidian geochemical sourcing, and genomic studies in collaboration with centers like Wellcome Sanger Institute and Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History to situate Changbin trajectories within wider Holocene migration frameworks.
Category:Archaeological cultures of Taiwan