The National Museum of Prehistory (NMP; ) is located in Taitung City, Taitung County,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

In 1980, during the construction of the

South-Link Line The South-link line () is a line of the Taiwan Railways Administration running across the southern tip of the island of Taiwan, connecting the eastern and western coasts. It is 98.2 km long, of which 81.4 km is single-track. The secti ...

, building work uncovered prehistoric remains on the Beinan Site (卑南遺址). Many slate coffins and artifacts were discovered, and after a proposal by the Taitung City Government, construction of Taitung Station was halted. For 10 years, a

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

-led team excavated the site and uncovered over 1,500 burials and tens of thousands of artifacts. The site is widely regarded as the most important site of the mid-

Neolithic age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

in Taiwan, and was then later transformed into the

Beinan Cultural Park Beinan Cultural Park () is an archeological site in Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan. The park is the site for the largest and most complete prehistoric settlement ever discovered in Taiwan, with over 10,000 m2 and more than 1,600 burial si ...

. An outdoor museum was proposed and approved in 1990. Trial operations began on July 10, 2001, and the museum officially opened on August 17, 2002. The museum underwent renovation starting on 31 May 2020.

Architecture

The museum was designed by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

architect

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Gr ...

and is situated on a parcel of land. The museum is divided into several sections, including: * Sun Square * Mountain Square * Administrative Building * Scenic Garden * Children's Play Area * The Maze * Water Fountain Show * Bird Singing Square * Sightseeing Hill.

Exhibitions

* Natural History of Taiwan designed by MET Studio, London * Prehistory of Taiwan * Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan designed by MET Studio, London File:卑南遺址人獸形玉玦.jpg, Archaeological artifact from Beinan Site File:卑南文化岩雕石梯.jpg, Archaeological artifact from Beinan Site File:卑南遺址鈴形玉串飾.jpg, Archaeological artifact from Beinan Site

Transportation

The museum is accessible within walking distance from Kangle Station of the Taiwan Railways.

Branches

* Museum of Archaeology in

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...

References

2002 establishments in Taiwan Archaeological museums in Taiwan

Prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...