Beinan Cultural Park

Beinan Cultural Park (traditional Chinese: 卑南文化公園; simplified Chinese: 卑南文化公园; pinyin: Pēinán Wénhuà Gōngyuán) 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 sites.^[1]

Beinan Cultural Park

卑南文化公園
Beinan Cultural Park Shown within Taitung County
Location	Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan
Coordinates	22°47′39.3″N 121°06′59.2″E
Type	archeological site
Area	10,000 m2
Site notes
Discovered	1980
Public access	Taitung Station

Beinan Site

The Puyuma's Moon-shape Monolith ca. 1896

The earliest records of the prehistoric Beinan Site in Taitung City were made by Torii Ryūzō, an anthropologist in the early period of the Japanese rule. During his four visits to Taiwan for anthropological research, he took photos of the monolithic stone pillars at the site.

Excavation of the Beinan site

This historic settlement area was discovered during the construction work of the back part of Taitung Station in 1980 when graveyard containing several thousand slate coffins was unearthed, with some bodies still laid within. Around 20,000 pieces of jade, pottery and stone tools were also found. This had caught the attention of the government to carry out archeological work and build a national museum to preserve the artifacts.

Beinan Cultural Park opened in 1997 to display and preserve the archaeological site, considered the most important one in Taiwan.^[2] An indoor/outdoor Museum of Prehistory opened in 2002.^[3]

Features

The park consists of and archeological site for visitors and the nearby National Museum of Prehistory which was opened in 2002.

Transportation

The park is accessible West from Taitung Station of the Taiwan Railways.^[3]

See also

• Taiwan portal

• Jade tube
• List of parks in Taiwan
• Prehistory of Taiwan
• National Museum of Prehistory (Taiwan)

References

1. Lu, Tyson; Liu, Kay (29 April 2016). "Museum offers insights into prehistoric life in Taiwan". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
2. "Beinan Cultural Park". Taiwan the Heart of Asia. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
3. "The National Museum of Prehistory and Beinan Culture Park". Taiwan, the Heart of Asia. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.