Reviewing the Connections between the Upper Thai-Malay Peninsula and the Philippines during the Late Prehistoric Period (500 bc–ad 500)

Résumé En

Taiwan Maritime Landscapes examines the maritime history and prehistory of Taiwan, with particular attention paid to the often neglected pre-17th century periods. It expands our understanding of the island’s past and its nautical environment, and highlights the persistence of Taiwan’s relationships with its neighbors, first through the maritime activities of Austronesian peoples, then around the 2nd millennium ad by way of the Minnan sailors. Supported by a multidisciplinary approach, the works presented herein showcase recent advances in archaeological and historical research on these issues. It documents the natural maritime and climatic environment of Taiwan, its first Neolithic communities, their diversification up to the 1st millennium ad, and the integration of the island into Chinese and European maritime networks. It illustrates and explores the island societies’ cultural and commercial connections with populations and polities across the South and East China Seas as well as the nautical knowledge underpinning these relations. The articles presented in this book offer new insights and avenues for Asian maritime history research.