Austronesian Prehistory in Southeast Asia: Homeland, Expansion and Transformation

Abstract

Austronesian origins are here presented as an example of a frequent phenomenon in world prehistory, whereby populations who develop agriculture in regions of primary agricultural origins are provided with essential economic advantages over surrounding hunter-gatherers. These advantages allow them to undertake the colonization of very large regions, and the records of such colonizations are visible in the archaeological and linguistic records. The pattern of Austronesian expansion, possible reasons for it, and some major factors influencing subsequent differentiation of Austronesian cultures are all discussed, commencing from about 4000 BC in southern China and Taiwan.