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- Panel 7-1 Corresponding Life and Death: Exploring the Cultural Affiliation of the 8,000-Year-Old Liangdao Man through Food and Burial Practices /Hung-Lin Chiu
Panel 7-1 Corresponding Life and Death: Exploring the Cultural Affiliation of the 8,000-Year-Old Liangdao Man through Food and Burial Practices /Hung-Lin Chiu
Hung-Lin Chiu
Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
This study explores the cultural affiliation of the 8,000-year-old Liangdao people through two aspects of life and death—dietary habits and burial practices. Recent findings suggest that the Liangdao population, based on their genetic traits and geographic position, may represent early ancestors of Austronesian-speaking peoples. Yet cultural affinity cannot be defined by biology alone; it must be examined through cultural behavior and environmental adaptation. By analyzing burial customs, this research investigates attitudes toward death and cultural belonging. Studies of food remains, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, and starch grains reveal subsistence strategies and interregional interactions, while comparisons of material culture, including pottery from the Qihedong site, highlight links with neighboring regions.
Results show that Liangdao burial practices resemble early Neolithic patterns in coastal Southeast Asia, indicating shared traditions rather than isolation. Combined dietary and material evidence further suggests strong inland connections and advanced maritime activity, offering new insights into Liangdao’s role within the prehistoric cultural networks of Southeast Asia.
Keywords: Liangdao people, stable isotopes, starch analysis, burial customs, Qihedong site
Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
This study explores the cultural affiliation of the 8,000-year-old Liangdao people through two aspects of life and death—dietary habits and burial practices. Recent findings suggest that the Liangdao population, based on their genetic traits and geographic position, may represent early ancestors of Austronesian-speaking peoples. Yet cultural affinity cannot be defined by biology alone; it must be examined through cultural behavior and environmental adaptation. By analyzing burial customs, this research investigates attitudes toward death and cultural belonging. Studies of food remains, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, and starch grains reveal subsistence strategies and interregional interactions, while comparisons of material culture, including pottery from the Qihedong site, highlight links with neighboring regions.
Results show that Liangdao burial practices resemble early Neolithic patterns in coastal Southeast Asia, indicating shared traditions rather than isolation. Combined dietary and material evidence further suggests strong inland connections and advanced maritime activity, offering new insights into Liangdao’s role within the prehistoric cultural networks of Southeast Asia.
Keywords: Liangdao people, stable isotopes, starch analysis, burial customs, Qihedong site