2003-2004 Research on the Balan Site (Project Director: Jun Fu, Kun-shiu Li)

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The core of the Balan Site is in the hill area to the southwest of Chulu Town in Peinan Village, Taitung County, at evaluation of 600m. During the first year of the research, the researchers found the site to be a residential area, yet other functional areas such as the farmland, hunting ground, stone resources, and water sources are still to be found. Within the excavated area, there are houses constructed with slate and schist, and burials inside the houses. The burials are mostly slate-built square-shape constructions, and prove the use of iron, pottery and stone beads in colors of yellow, blue and orange. According to the results of Carbon-14 Dating, the remains could be dated back to approximately 1,000 years ago, though the time frame of the site is still unknown. In addition, the pottery debris from the site is very similar to the pottery of the Megalithic Culture unearthed between Yuli of Hua-tung longitude rift valley and Chihshang.

In the classification of the indigenous tribes today, the architecture and burial of the Paiwan and Rukai in Pingtung County and Taitung County resemble those found in the Balan Site. The resemblance indicates possible relationship between the two tribes. However, further research is necessary for verification.

Besides the cultural style and sequence, the discussion on the "home" and the "social classes" of the modern Paiwan, as well as on the "residential houses" and "burials" connotes the characteristic meaning of the "home", "burials" and "residential houses" on the "people", "society" and "heavenly God" in the contemporary Paiwan culture. In these anthropological discussions, it is interesting to know whether the "mutually constitutive relations" between the material cultures, the social structure and cultural morality of the Paiwan provides an inferring model for answering the archaeological questions concerning the Balan Site. The researchers need to answer the questions about the Balan Site on the basis of broadened, sequential and deepened information concerning the Balan (and other tribes of Paiwan and aged clans). This is exactly the direction of our research in the future.

The Balan Site is situated in the mountainous region approximately 3km along the westbound of Expressway 9.

The architecture remained in the Balan Site includes structural elements of square burials and fireplaces.

The square burials of the Balan Site contain the remains of human skeletons, iron objects and pottery beads.

Bead ornaments excavated from the burials.

The pottery debris unearthed from the Balan Site bearing patterns that resemble those of Tapenkeng Culture is the typical product of the Iron Age in Hua-tung longitude rift valley.

The bridge arch crossbar is one of the important features particular to pottery of the Balan Site.

The slate pillars of the Balan Site.

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