Genetic diversity of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples: possible relationship with insular Southeast Asia

The diversity of language, culture and physical appearance of tribal peoples in the island of Taiwan has attracted the interest and attention of anthropologists, archaeologists and linguistic scientists since the nineteenth century. Since the Japanese occupation in 1895, there have been extensive anthropological studies and archaeological excavations. The origin of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples was initially sought in the south (i.e. the Malay) (Mabuchi 1974; Mackay 1895). After the Second World War, it was proposed that this first settlement consisted of ethnic minorities from China (Sung 1980). A more recent theory, based on linguistic and archaeological evidence, placed the homeland of the AN-speakers in Taiwan (Bellwood 1991). This involved an early Neolithic migration from southeast China, an independent development in Taiwan, and a further expansion towards the south.