Local archaeology in Heping Dao, a global history of Taiwan

Jour Fixe talk by María Cruz Berrocal on November 22, 2017

María Cruz Berrocal is a Research Fellow of the Zukunftskolleg affiliated with the Department of History.

María's talk had two parts. First, she presented  the research question that led her to work in Taiwan. This is the early European presence in the Pacific, its extent and consequences, a topic that has been downsized by mainstream archaeology, history and anthropology in the Pacific. Second, she unfolded the research carried out in Heping Dao, Taiwan, the setting of the former Spanish colony of San Salvador. Her team has approached the study of European colonialism with a long-term view that allows them to tell the history of the place since the beginnings of its human settlement and until modern times. Telling this archaeological history enables them to tackle important questions in archaeological and historical research, such as the nature of the prehistoric habitation and social evolution, the irruption of the Europeans in the lives of the Taiwanese, the dependence of Europeans on pre-existing social networks for their colonial enterprises, and society's increase of its material load and impact through time.