Excavated Pottery from the Yuliao Archaeological Site, Chiayi County (Liu Ke-Hung, Anthropology Department)
The Yuliao archaeological site is located in Taibao City of Chiayi County. It is the most representative prehistoric site on the Chiayi Plains. It is also one of the important archaeological sites discovered during the Japanese occupation era (1895-1945). In 2002 and 2003, archaeological teams from the Anthropology Department of the National Museum of Natural Science excavated this site. There are two cultural layers. The lower layer is of the Niuchouzi Culture. Only a small quantity of red cord potsherds were found, dating to 4500-3000 years before present. The upper layer is of the Yuliao type. This is the representative prehistoric culture on the Chiayi Plains during the late Neolithic Age. From carbon-14 dating, this layer is from 1980 to 1620 years before present. Approximately 100,000 potsherds were excavated, and were extremely characteristic. Based on their qualities, they were divided into clay pottery and sand-mixed pottery, and included high belly, round base pots; round belly, round base pots; bowls; dou and other small pottery vessels.
