2025/06/24 by Hiroto Takamiya, Mark Hudson · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
paper · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197607770.013.21
openalex publication_date 2025/06/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the archaeology and historical ecology of the Ryūkyū archipelago located between Kyūshū and Taiwan. Geologically and culturally, this long chain of islands is subdivided into the Northern, Central, and Southern groups, with human settlement beginning by 35,000 years ago. This chapter provides a culture history of these three subregions under the following topics: Paleolithic settlement, Holocene hunter–gatherers, Bronze Age agriculture and its rejection, medieval agriculture, trade and kings, and early modern Ryūkyū as colonial periphery. Overall, the authors discuss five major issues: (1) the colonization of at least eight islands by humans before 10,000 years ago; (2) the presence of hunter–gatherer–fishers on small, impoverished islands for thousands of years, if not more; (3) an unusual non-acceptance of agriculture, despite its known presence on the mainland; (4) agriculture and trade playing important roles in the evolution of the Ryūkyū kingdom; and (5) processes of globalization that are important for understanding the history of the Ryūkyū kingdom. From the perspective of historical ecology, the Paleolithic and Shellmidden (Neolithic) periods are unusual in showing little evidence of human-induced impact to the natural environment.