Researchers have found ethnobotanical support for the “out of Taiwan” theory of Austronesian expansion by identifying that the DNA sequences of paper mulberry trees found on Pacific islands originated from Taiwan.
An international team led by National Taiwan University forestry professor Chung Kuo-fang (鍾國芳) analyzed the chloroplast DNA sequences of 604 paper mulberry samples collected from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands, and found that a specific haplotype, cp-17, which originated in Taiwan, is predominant across the region.
It is assumed that paper mulberry, a common East Asian tree used for making paper, was transported across the Pacific by Austronesian people, who used the tree to make bark cloth, Chung said.
The team’s analysis found that the genetic structure and evolutionary development of Oceanic paper mulberries are concurrent with the paper mulberries in southern Taiwan, which offers circumstantial support for the “out of Taiwan” theory of Austronesian expansion, Chung said.
Paper mulberry is a dioecious species, meaning that the male and female reproductive organs are found on separate plants.
Most Pacific paper mulberries are of a single sex, so they cannot reproduce naturally, but rely on humans for propagation, Chung said, adding that those conditions are critical to preserving the genetic structure of the tree.
The study was the first to use the migration of “commensal species” — non-native animals or plants that are instrumental to human survival and are introduced into a region — to support the “out of Taiwan” hypothesis, he said, adding that linguistic, archeological and genetic studies have produced important evidence that points to Taiwan as an Austronesian ancestral homeland.
The “out of Taiwan” hypothesis is a mainstream model of Austronesian expansion, which assumes that a large-scale expansion began between 5000 BC and 2500 BC, when Austronesian-speaking peoples migrated from Taiwan to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The research also provides insight into the dispersal of paper mulberry from southern China into northern Taiwan, as a large amount of mulberry pollen was discovered in sediments in Taipei that could be dated back to 5000 BC, about the same time pre-Austronesian-speaking peoples from southern China are believed to have migrated to Taiwan, Chung said.
Stone beaters — that were used by Austronesian migrants to make bark cloth — found at archeological sites in northern Taiwan could also be dated back to about 5000 BC, suggesting that ancestral Austronesians migrated from southern China to northern Taiwan and planted the trees along the migration route, he said.
The team spent seven years collecting and analyzing paper mulberry samples from Pacific islands and Southeast Asia, and the results were published in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month.
ACCESS DENIAL: Beijing would likely take formation in the Philippine Sea, outside Taipei’s missile range, while its forces on the east would be a deterrent to foreign aid China is increasingly likely to employ a strategy of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) around Taiwan, which would use three carrier groups, a report from the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. When China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is completed next year, China would have three carriers, which would likely be used to surround Taiwan and implement an A2/AD strategy, it said, adding that efforts to strengthen China’s two other carriers — the Liaoning and the Shandong — appear to corroborate this. In the quarterly report, the council cited declassified documents from the Ministry of National Defense that categorized China’s carriers as
Two German warships are awaiting orders from Berlin to determine whether they would be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the Taiwan Strait next month, at the risk of stoking tensions with Beijing, a German commander said. While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the narrow strait in recent weeks, it would be the German navy’s first passage through the Strait since 2002. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180km waterway that divides the two sides. Taiwan strongly objects to these claims, saying only its people
Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley yesterday called for more international backing for Taiwan and a coordinated pushback against China’s claims over the nation. “The United States should elevate Taiwan on the world stage. You should no longer be silenced in global affairs,” Haley told an audience at the Ketagalan Forum, a Taipei conference focused on security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. She called for Taiwan to become a full member of the UN, even though it is being blocked by China from representation in international bodies. While the US does not formally recognize Taiwan, it is the nation's strongest
China sent 50 military planes and vessels to the vicinity of Taiwan in the 24 hours starting at 6am on Friday, while President William Lai (賴清德) was visiting Kinmen for the first time since taking office in May to mark the 66th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment. Flight paths released yesterday by the Ministry of National Defense showed that 38 military aircraft were detected in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the highest number recorded in recent weeks. The figure included 32 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension. Of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft