Taiwan presents a puzzling anomaly in the development and expansion of Southand Southeast Asian trade routes. The lack of historical records from theisland emphasises the value of archaeology for understanding theestablishment of trade and the transmission of people, ideas and knowledge.Recent research focusing on newly excavated sites such as Jiuxianglan showsthat the Metal Age in Taiwan began around 400 BC, much earlier than waspreviously thought. Furthermore, it seems that early trade predominantlyprioritised links to the south, and not, curiously, with Mainland China tothe immediate west as had traditionally been supposed.
