The Niumatou Site () is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
dating from the mid
Neolithic
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 parts ...
period in
Qingshui District
Qingshui District (), also spelled as Chingshui District, is a coastal suburban district in western Taichung City, Taiwan.
Geography
Qingshui is located on the Qingshui Plain of Taiwan. It borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, the Dajia R ...
,
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
,
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 ...
. It is the oldest archaeological site in central Taiwan. The site has been designated as a historical relic by then
Taichung County Government.
History
Civilizations around the area started around 4,000 years ago when prehistoric people lived within the area during the
Neolithic
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 parts ...
age. They knew how to use stone tools and pottery. Because large numbers of stone hoes were unearthed, archaeologists think that those prehistoric people probably relied largely on farming for food. However, they also went hunting to add more variety to their menu. The site was originally discovered in May 2002, when a student found pottery shards in the area. He collected the fragments and then handed it over to a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the
National Museum of Natural Science
The National Museum of Natural Science () is a national museum in North District, Taichung, Taiwan.
Overview
The museum covers and is a six-venue complex housing: the Space Theater, Science Center, Life Science Hall, Human Cultures Hall, Gl ...
in
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
.
Transportation
The site is accessible within walking distance north east of
Qingshui Station of
Taiwan Railways.
See also
*
Prehistory of Taiwan
Most information about Taiwan before the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in 1624 comes from archaeological finds throughout the island. The earliest evidence of human habitation dates back 20,000 to 30,000 years, when lower sea levels expo ...
*
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 ...
References
Archaeological sites in Taiwan
Buildings and structures in Taichung
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