Some notes on animals and plants for Proto-Austronesian speakers

Abstract

Man's life has always depended on animals and plants, a dependency most directly relevant to primitive societies. What animals and plants were available to the Proto-Austronesian (PAN) people of Taiwan 5,000 BP and earlier? What animals and plants had been domesticated at that stage? What animals and plants were endemic, with other alien species introduced to the island at later stages? In this paper I shall address myself to such problems, drawing upon various disciplines, including linguistics and archaeology, as well as zoology and botany. Lists of PAN cognates for animals, plants, and a few related cognates are given in the appendices.