Archeologists recently found artifacts and pottery parts that are identified as belonging to the Niaosung culture (1400-550 BCE) during an excavation near a public cemetery in Tainan City's Jiali District (Republic of China - Taiwan).
     According to Chu Cheng-yi, a research fellow with the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica, and the leader of the archeology team, Jiali District used to be a community populated by the indigenous Siraya people who settled flat coastal plains in the southwest part of the island and corresponding sections of the east coast; the area that is identified today as Tainan City. It is, therefore, not uncommon to find Niaosung cultural relics within the city, Chu added.
     The archeology team also found remains of pottery used by the Han people in the much later Chinese Qing Dynasty at a pond near the public cemetery. Chu and his team had also found a huge number of shells and pottery debris at the earthworks construction near the site. However, Chu noted that they have to first determine the origin of the earthworks. If the earth used in the earthworks is from the nearby area, his team will be able to draw the conclusion that the there could be a huge layer containing other Niaosung-era items beneath the public cemetery.

Edited from The China Post (27 February 2011)