S19-6

The Resiliency of Ancient People in Taiwan: The Case of the Blihun Hanben Site

Liu Yi-Chang1 & Liu Jiun-Yu2

1Institute of Archaeology, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

2Burke Museum, University of Washington, U.S.A.

Blihun Hanben (BHB) is one of the most important sites in Taiwan for understanding the transition from the Neolithic to Metal Age. In addition to the significant role BHB can play in understanding prehistoric cultural transitions in Taiwan, it also provides an ideal situation for exploring people responded to natural disasters and mitigated the risks. The BHB site has one historical and three prehistoric cultural layers: L2 (premodern), L4 (1600-1000BP, Metal period), L6 (1800-1600BP, transitional period from Neolithic to Metal period), and L8 (-1800BP, final stage of Neolithic period). The thick continuous deposits of L4 and L6 yielded substantial amounts of artifacts, burials, and the stone foundations of structures, indicating longer-term occupation of the site. Between these cultural layers, natural deposits with indications of landslides were observed during excavation. Even in these days, landslides, mainly from the steep hill to the west side of BHB settlement still frequently occur in the area caused by typhoons and earthquakes. While the unbroken chronologies recorded for BHB suggest people immediately returned to the settlement after landslides, structures like drains, retention walls, and solid house structures illustrate how local residents constructed their settlement to mitigate against the natural disasters they frequently encountered. While the site seems less than ideal for permanent settlement due to the landslides and shortage of agricultural land, it is located at a strategic point for resupply when traveling between northern and eastern Taiwan, and this might be the reason why people tolerated natural disruption. However, this single explanation is too rough and too simplified. Undergoing research may shed more light on why people returned to this site repeatedly.