Settlement patterns, subsistence systems and their changes in Kenting National Park during O-luan-pi Phases III and IV

From the perspective of adaptation, diversification in resource exploitation and subsistence activities is a stable, generalized strategy. In contrast, focusing on a few favorable resources and certain subsistence activities is a relatively unstable specialized strategy. A shift in subsistence from a generalized to a specialized system generally involves certain adaptation mechanisms. Changes in subsistence systems between O-luan-pi Phase III (ca. 3500-3000 B.P.) and O-luan-pi Phase IV (ca. 3000-2000 B.P.) in Kenting National Park on the southern tip of Taiwan are evidenced by a shift from fishing, gathering, hunting and small-scale cultivation to a system more dependent on cultivation. This shift correlates with a change in settlement patterns and an increase in the number of habitation sites with migration of populations to previously unhabitated areas. This increase in food production and associated settlement pattern changes in the coastal area of Kenting National Park presents a interesting question: Why did cultivation exist--even increase--and the subsistence system change from a diverse to a specialized strategy in a coastal area with stable, plentiful marine resources? The main purpose of this study is to develop a better chronology, and establish detailed knowledge, of settlement patterns and subsistence systems in this study period, and to confirm previous studies in this area. By studying subsistence systems through time and the mechanisms involved in their change, the understanding of the processes of adaptation and development of agriculture in a coastal area might be obtained. Environmental changes, population growth, and socio-political factors have been suggested as the main factors influencing the development of increased food production. Because of the difficulty of measuring socio-political factors archaeologically, environmental changes and population variation are the two factors that directed this study to understand the mechanism of a subsistence strategy and the processes of its change. Settlement pattern and dietary system two aspects were approached in this research to achieve the goal. An intensive survey on a regional scale and restricted excavations in selected sites have been carried out to fulfill the requirements of the present study. Data such as: artifacts (especially ceramics), site size, site type, site location, site number, demographic variables, environmental resources, soil samples, and food deposits were collected.