'Out of Taiwan' hypothesis of the Austronesian expansion
Hipótesis «Fuera de Taiwán» de la expansión austronesia
- Date
- c. 3000 BCE · confidence low
- Place
- Dabenkeng, Bali, New Taipei, Taiwan
- Credited to
- Peter Bellwood, Robert Blust and others
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
A model in which speakers of Austronesian languages left Taiwan for the Philippines about 3000-2000 BC and from there reached the Pacific islands. It unites linguistics, archaeology (Dabenkeng culture) and genetics in one of the widest prehistoric migrations.
The route and timing are debated: some ancient-DNA studies suggest continental inputs and later admixture, and alternative models (such as a route through island Southeast Asia) remain alive.
What it led to
- study of the Polynesian and Madagascar expansions
- reconstruction of Proto-Austronesian
- the debate over the mainland or island origin of Austronesians