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- Panel 7-3 From Food to Ritual: Shell Culture at the Eluanbi-I Site during the Middle Neolithic Period in Taiwan /Hung-Lin Chiu、Yi-Cen Song
Panel 7-3 From Food to Ritual: Shell Culture at the Eluanbi-I Site during the Middle Neolithic Period in Taiwan /Hung-Lin Chiu、Yi-Cen Song
Hung-Lin Chiu
Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
Yi-Cen Song
Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
The Eluanbi-I site is situated at the southernmost tip of Taiwan and dated to the Middle Neolithic period. Excavations have revealed crucial evidence for understanding how prehistoric people utilized natural resources and constructed their material culture within specific environmental contexts. The site has yielded substantial shell remains and shell artifacts, indicating the reliance on coastal ecological resources. The consumption of shellfish represented an adaptive strategy adopted by the inhabitants in response to the maritime environment.
Based on the findings, the Eluanbi people further transformed shells into objects such as practical tools, ornaments, and ritual implements. These items were endowed with multiple functions and symbolic significance. Certain shell artifacts were crafted in imitation of lithic tool forms and shark teeth. Through their use as personal adornments and grave goods in burial contexts, as well as their involvement in ritual activities such as shell mound ceremonies, these objects came to embody rich religious and social connotations. Consequently, shell artifacts functioned as vital cultural media, mediating relationships between humans and nature, individuals and ancestors, and daily activities and ritual practices.
In sum, the shell culture manifested at the Eluanbi-I site epitomizes the high degree of environmental integration and cultural transformation achieved by prehistoric societies. The shell artifacts further reveal the strong connection between material life and spiritual belief. Meanwhile, these artifacts embody the uniqueness, complexity, and symbolic depth of the culture. This shell-oriented cultural tradition not only reflects an adaptation to marine environments of ancient Austronesian peoples but also, through its striking material and ideological parallels, suggests a prehistoric cultural relationship linking Taiwan with the islands of the South Pacific.
Keywords: Maritime environmental adaptation, Shell processing system, Ritual practices, Burial practices, Austronesian dispersal
Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
Yi-Cen Song
Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University
The Eluanbi-I site is situated at the southernmost tip of Taiwan and dated to the Middle Neolithic period. Excavations have revealed crucial evidence for understanding how prehistoric people utilized natural resources and constructed their material culture within specific environmental contexts. The site has yielded substantial shell remains and shell artifacts, indicating the reliance on coastal ecological resources. The consumption of shellfish represented an adaptive strategy adopted by the inhabitants in response to the maritime environment.
Based on the findings, the Eluanbi people further transformed shells into objects such as practical tools, ornaments, and ritual implements. These items were endowed with multiple functions and symbolic significance. Certain shell artifacts were crafted in imitation of lithic tool forms and shark teeth. Through their use as personal adornments and grave goods in burial contexts, as well as their involvement in ritual activities such as shell mound ceremonies, these objects came to embody rich religious and social connotations. Consequently, shell artifacts functioned as vital cultural media, mediating relationships between humans and nature, individuals and ancestors, and daily activities and ritual practices.
In sum, the shell culture manifested at the Eluanbi-I site epitomizes the high degree of environmental integration and cultural transformation achieved by prehistoric societies. The shell artifacts further reveal the strong connection between material life and spiritual belief. Meanwhile, these artifacts embody the uniqueness, complexity, and symbolic depth of the culture. This shell-oriented cultural tradition not only reflects an adaptation to marine environments of ancient Austronesian peoples but also, through its striking material and ideological parallels, suggests a prehistoric cultural relationship linking Taiwan with the islands of the South Pacific.
Keywords: Maritime environmental adaptation, Shell processing system, Ritual practices, Burial practices, Austronesian dispersal