On December 29-31, 1992, a symposium was held at Academia Sinica in Taipei on the topic “Austronesian Studies Relating to Taiwan.” The central theme of the symposium was the position of Taiwan in Austronesian studies. The symposium brought together Austronesian scholars in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. The three major goals of this symposium were as follows: 1) to explore interdisciplinary questions concerning comparative research in Austronesian studies; 2) to present recent findings emphasizing the position of Taiwan in Austronesian studies, as well as the historical, social and cultural development of the Austronesian peoples in Taiwan; and 3) to chart the course for future research in terms of theory and methodology for Austronesian studies in general.

More and more leading Austronesian scholars recognize the importance of Formosan studies for the entire Austronesian family. Taiwan has unusually rich resources not in the number, but rather in the great diversity of its various ethnic groups. Moreover, it has an unbroken history of anthropological, archaeological and linguistic studies, which took root in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such studies will provide crucial evidence for determining their homeland, early migration routes and culture prehistory.

The response of Austronesian scholars from all over the world was encouraging. But due to limited space and funding, only twenty-seven papers were accepted for presentation and discussion at the symposium. Each paper was then revised by the author, reviewed anonymously and revised again by the author, incorporating the reviewers’ comments. As a result, only twenty papers were finally accepted for inclusion in this published volume. They are arranged in three groups: anthropology, archaeology and linguistics.

There was considerable discussion of a formal and informal nature during the three days of the symposium among the speakers, visitors, and local faculty members. The formal discussions were all video-taped, but have not been included in the published record of the symposium.

We would like to thank all those who helped to make the symposium a success, including not only the official participants but many visitors. Generous financial support was provided by the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, and the National Science Council and the Council for Cultural Affairs of Executive Yuan, the Republic of China. The symposium could not have been held without the active support of Tung-kuei Kuan, the former director of the Institute of History and Philology. Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues Chenghwa Tsang, Ying-kuei Huang, Dah-an Ho and Chiu-yu Tseng, who also participated in the editing of this volume.

Paul Jen-kuei Li
Taipei, Taiwan June 1995