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Perspectives on Early Holocene Maritime Ethnic Groups of the Taiwan Strait Based on the “Liangdao Man” Skeletons

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Prehistoric Maritime Cultures and Seafaring in East Asia

Part of the book series: The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation ((AAPN,volume 1))

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Abstract

Two “Liangdao Man” skeletons from the Early Holocene, found on Liangdao (亮岛) Island of the Matsu (马祖) archipelago, are the oldest human remains ever found in the Taiwan Strait. This discovery has attracted considerable academic interest, especially in the fields of archaeology and anthropology. Scholars in several different disciplines have conducted studies of “Liangdao Man.” Among these were the author and the Matsu Archaeological Team, who carried out three fruitful field seasons of excavation. The most notable outcome of this fieldwork was the successful extraction of both mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA from “Liangdao Man 1.” Results from the study of the ethnic origins of “Liangdao Man” are presented here, along with contemporaneous maritime activities in the Taiwan Strait.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Edna and Simon Litten for their editorial assistance.

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Correspondence to Chun-Yu Chen .

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Chen, CY. (2019). Perspectives on Early Holocene Maritime Ethnic Groups of the Taiwan Strait Based on the “Liangdao Man” Skeletons. In: Wu, C., Rolett, B. (eds) Prehistoric Maritime Cultures and Seafaring in East Asia. The Archaeology of Asia-Pacific Navigation, vol 1. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9256-7_11

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