Unearthing the Land’s Distant Past at the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

“This breathtaking view — though geometric and architectural — was unlike any other that I’ve ever seen.”

In today’s story, this writer would like to share with you how a museum located in New Taipei City unearthed the land’s distant past. Bali district is found on the left bank of the city’s famous Tamsui river, and it is perhaps best known for being the cradle of northern Taiwan’s first archaeological museum: the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology.

Established in 1990, the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology was found when a rescue excavation took place at the prehistoric site of the same name. The name “Shihsanhang” refers to the thirteen ( shihsan) trading houses (hang) in this area, which used to be a prosperous trading port during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).

The Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology in New Taipei City, Taiwan
Courtesy of New Taipei City Government

When heading towards the museum’s permanent exhibition, I was struck by what I saw — a living amalgamation of the past and present embedded into the museum’s building structure. At the bottom of this “curious mix” is a cross section of earth strata buried with bones, vessel shards and rocks taken from the archaeological site, blending in to become the foundation of the building’s polished concrete wall on top. This is a perfect demonstration to visitors that this very museum is built upon an ancient site where traces of ancient civilisation were found.

Wall of the museum’s building inside the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

The museum’s permanent exhibition “Back to Shihsanhang” covers the chronology of major events concerning the discovery and rescue of this ancient site, encouraging both children and adults to learn about the history of distant civilisation through objects, videos, and interactive games. During the Qing dynasty, Bali was then a popular destination for Chinese immigrants who sought to settle in northern Taiwan. Records of aboriginal tribe in the area during the period of Spanish and Dutch rule (1626–1642) are also on display.

Anthropomorphic Jar at the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

The artefact that interests this writer the most from the permanent exhibition is a vessel dubbed as the “Anthropomorphic Jar”. This strange human-faced jar, with its facial features vividly depicted, exemplifies both the maker’s capability and creativity in producing such a fine object. At the time of writing, this is the only artefact of its kind to have been excavated from below the surface. But perhaps we’ll find out more when the jar finally awakes from its sleep and opens up its eyes, to recount to us the many tales that it has collected and kept over the past millenium.

A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the jewellery worn by people of Shihsanhang culture. They’re mostly beads, bangles and earrings made from glass. During the excavation, more than 20,000 beads were unearthed; these colourful beads were predominantly made in glass, but also in other materials, such as agate, shell and ceramics. To date there hasn’t been any evidence of bead production in Taiwan. What’s more, an analysis indicates Southeast Asia as the origin of glass ornaments found at Shihsanhang site.

Display of prehistoric ornaments at the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

It has occurred to the writer that these ancient ornaments do possess a certain magical power. The fact that they survived, after so many centuries, seems to make them more attractive than the jewellery that are made nowadays. This affection towards ancient adornments or objects that many of us have probably evolved from our respect for them, similar to the respect we hold for elderly or ancestors who have witnessed the passing of time and experienced more in life than we have.

The writer can’t end this tale without mentioning another fascinating exhibition titled Beauty of the Sea: Maritime Culture and Faces of Taiwan, which will be on display at the museum until June 20th. Given that Taiwan is an island surrounded by the sea, it goes without saying that the people of Shihsanhang culture depended their livelihood on what the sea had to offer. According to the museum director Mei Bo-Li: “the sea — to the ancient civilisation who was raised by it — was not considered as a barrier but a channel of interaction and communication.” This is testified by the foreign objects, including the glass ornaments, that reached Shihsanhang from across the ocean.

Part of the temporary exhibition Beauty of the Sea at the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

In addition to a range of prehistoric objects from the museum’s collection, there’s also a selection of sea-inspired art works, such as paintings, photographs and sculptures. The exhibition theme and the prolific creativity of these artists reminds the writer of a book titled Old Seafarer. The book’s author, Syaman Rapongan, was born in the indigenous Tao tribe of Orchid Island and is known for opening up a new world for Taiwan’s oceanic literature. As soon as I finished reading Old Seafarer, I placed the order on three other books written by the same author right away. I shall recount more of what I discovered in Rapongan’s work when opportunity comes knocking.

Having been to all of the museum’s exhibitions, the writer climbed up the open staircase that leads to an elevated viewing platform on the top floor. Though my acrophobia has made this five-minute journey rather unpleasant and difficult, it is with the writer’s promise that it’s worth the trip. Passing by the viewing deck, visitors will be directed to exit the museum. This exit leads to a narrow path outside the building, bringing visitors to another set of staircase that leads to the ground level.

Staircase that leads to the exit of the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

The view seen from the top of the stairs is framed by two standing concrete walls that point towards the Dapenkeng site (an early Neolithic culture in northern Taiwan dated between 4000 and 3000 BC) found on Guanyin Mountain, alluding to the connection between Shihsanhang and Dapenkeng cultures. Designed by the museum’s architect SUN Te-Hung, this pair of walls are so monumental that visitors will only be able to see a “strip” of sky when they look up. This breathtaking view, though geometric and architectural, was unlike any other that I have ever seen. After all, April showers do bring May flowers.

Shaopeng

Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology is located in New Taipei City, Taiwan.