Not far from RTI’s studios, are the remnants of an ancient habitation, a prehistoric site where people lived thousands of years ago. The site covers many cultural layers, built up on top of one another over millennia as styles of pottery and other everyday objects came and went. One of the many layers in this record, stands out, though. It’s unlike anything that came before it in Taiwan, and perhaps because is so distinctive, it shares a name with the site as a whole. This is the layer belonging to the Yuanshan Culture, which was spread across much of northern Taiwan around 3000-2500 years ago. But the Yuanshan Site is far older than that. Settlement at the site goes back 5000 years or more, and the Yuanshan Culture wasn’t the first or even the second culture group to leave traces there. What about the Yuanshan Culture is special then? What about it represents such a break with the past? To find out, I’ve spoken with researcher Lee Kun-hsiu of the National Museum of Prehistory.