DNA tests on two skeletons found in Taiwan’s outlying Matsu archipelago suggest genetic links with the Austronesian linguistic family of peoples, according to Academia Sinica July 16.
Chen Chung-yu, a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of History and Philology, said the discovery is based on the latest DNA and carbon-14 testing of the skeletons, which his archeological team recovered in 2011 and 2012 at the same site on Liang Island.
The skeletons are referred to as Liangdao men, or Liang Islanders No. 1 and No. 2. Through maternal mitochondrial DNA testing of finger bones, Chen said, it has been determined that the closest genetic fit of the two Liang Islanders is with indigenous peoples in Taiwan, the Philippines and other lands populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples.
Carbon-14 testing indicates that Liang Islander No. 1 lived about 8,200 years ago, while Liang Islander No. 2 lived between 7,530 and 7,800 years ago. The testing was conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Chen said results indicate that the southeastern coastal area of the Asian continent was among the staging grounds as far back as 10,000 years ago for migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples, who now inhabit oceanic regions stretching half way around the globe.
This latest evidence in the ongoing debate about the ancestry and movements of the Austronesian-speaking peoples, Chen said, is of particular significance for its unique anthropological point of view. In addition to ongoing investigations into the topic, his research will focus on cultural history as well as reconstruction of the natural and social environments at the times when the two Liang Islanders lived.
Administered by Lienchiang County, the Matsu archipelago is located more than 210 kilometers from Keelung in northern Taiwan and less than 1 kilometer off the coast of northern Fujian province in mainland China. (JD)
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