Ritual tooth ablation in ancient Taiwan and the Austronesian expansion

Abstract

The earliest farming communities in Taiwan practiced a distinctive bio-cultural marker of identity, in the form of deliberate anterior teeth extraction. This distinguishing body transformation can be traced back to 4800 years BP in Taiwan and associated with the first Austronesian communities, and it has endured among contemporary Austronesian speakers in Taiwan and extending across the Asia-Pacific region. Through a comprehensive exploration of archaeological and ethnographic evidence, our study highlights how this practice developed in Taiwan over nearly five millennia and furthermore establishes its role in relation to issues of group identity. The results can expand our understanding of cultural practice, identity-forming processes, and migration routes of ancient Austronesian populations across the Asia-Pacific region.