THE BATANES ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT AND THE “OUT OF TAIWAN” HYPOTHESIS FOR AUSTRONESIAN DISPERSAL

Peter Bellwood and Eusebio Dizon

AUSTRONESIAN MIGRATION THEORY Austronesian Migration Theory propounds on

the expansion of a group of people called the Austronesians from Asia into the Pacific by means of Taiwan 6,000 years ago. It was a theory proposed by Peter Bellwood a professor of Archeology. The theory largely explains the similarities in culture, language and physical attributes in different countries in the most Asian countries.

The Austronesian migrations began from the Chinese mainland, reaching Taiwan first in 3500 BC then the Philippines by 3000 BC. They reached Sumatra and Java by 2000 BC, Northern New Guinea by 1600 BC, Samoa by 1200 BC, Hawaii, Easter Island, and Madagascar by 500 AD, etc. *from Wiki

THE BATANES ISLANDS

Northern edge of the tropics

150 km from the southern tip of Taiwan

200 km from the north coast of Luson

Separated from Luzon by the Balintang Channel and Babuyan Islands. From Taiwan by Bashi Channel.

THE BATANES ISLANDS

THE BATANES ISLANDS

Seemingly first settled by Neolithic populations

Presumably the ancestors of the present Ivatan and Itbayaten populations.

Neolithic people had a fully-fledged polished stone technology.

BUT WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

THE BATANES ISLANDS

Sea Beds depths in Bashi Channel – at least 1000m

To deep to be affected by the Pleistocene sea level fluctuations.

Early humans never walked from Taiwan to Luzon.

BATANES CULTURAL SEQUENCE

Named after sites on Batan Island

3 Provisional Chronological Phase Sunget Phase – between 3500 and 2700 BP Naidi Phase – 2500 to 1500/1000 BP Rakwaydi Phase – 1000 BP to ethnographic times

*BP – Before Present

BATANES CULTURAL SEQUENCE

Pre – 4500 BP – no evidence for a human presence in Batanes

The OLDEST human activity(pottery) is dated 4450-4080 BP. Sunget was occupied from 3200 BP.

Ethnographic Itbayaten and Ivatan cultures – widely established on Batan after the Iraya eruption of AD 1000.

THE EXCAVATED SITES

Torongan Cave, Itbayat

Would have provided a landing place for early settlers who could have beached their canoes in the lower cave.

A specific item from the cave with Taiwan affinity is a waisted stone hoe of igneous or metamorphic rock.

THE EXCAVATED SITES

Sunget, central Batan

Cultural deposits have almost identical dates on two locations on food residues dated between 3200 and 2950 BP.

Materials found were Neolithic(no metal was found) related to Neolithic date in Taiwan.

Sunget pottery in mainly red-slipped and resembled the handles on northern and eastern Taiwan pottery.

THE EXCAVATED SITES

Sunget artifacts include large numbers of notched and flat ovate pebble “sinkers” of a type also common all over Taiwan from Dabenkeng Early Neolithic times onwards.

Never found Sunget Phase materials in caves or rock shelters.(except in Mavatoy shelter on Batan)

THE EXCAVATED SITES

ANARO AND NAIDI, 2500 BP TO MID/LATE FIRST MILLENNIUM AD

Naidi Phase assemblages continue on Batan Island with red-slipped but unstamped pottery, with rim forms differing from those of the Sunget Phase.

Pottery of Naidi Phase – very widespread on Batan Island.

Suggests that a large population was already occupying on Batan by 2500 BP.

ANARO, ITBAYAT

Most Remarkable site of the Naidi Phase

Artifacts include : pottery sherds pig bones objects of Taiwan slate(including fragments of

projectile points and knives) pieces of worked Fengtien nephrite(sourced near

Hualien, in eastern Taiwan).

ANARO, ITBAYAT

ANARO, ITBAYAT

ANARO, ITBAYAT

2000 years of continuing contact between Taiwan and the Philippines makes one wonder about the voyaging skills and linguistic connections between the populations concerned.

WHERE THE BATANES ISLANDS(WITH LANYU) THE EXTRA-FORMOSAN HOMELAND?

Evidence from Torongan and Sunget that supports a Taiwan to Batanes(and Luzon) north-to-south colonizing directionality includes: Pottery vessel forms in sites(rim shapes, surface

red slip and Sunget handles. The Torongan waisted hoe The Sunget items of Taiwan slate and nephrite The notched stone sinkers.

EVIDENCE FAVOURS BATANES as being reached before LUZON.

WHERE THE BATANES ISLANDS(WITH LANYU) THE EXTRA-FORMOSAN HOMELAND?

Evidence also suggests that items from Taiwan are traded to Cagayan Valley rather than a widespread and fundamental elements of material culture as in Batanes.

Slate artifacts have never been found in the Philippines south of Batanes.

THE REPORTERS

Viernes, Michael Jan Tagudin, Mary Grace Mae Arcenal, Rhea Clave, Carol Eve Mate’, Alfie Mariane