The National Museum of Prehistory is located in Taitung City

Taitung City

Taitung City is the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean.The city is served by Taitung Airport. Taitung is a gateway to Green Island and Orchid Island, both of which are very popular among Taiwanese tourists.-History:Taitung...

, Taitung County

Taitung County

Taitung County is a county in eastern Taiwan. The name means "Eastern Taiwan". Taitung County is also known as 後山 by many of the locals, meaning behind the mountains or the back mountains. Taitung is officially administered as a county of Taiwan, Republic of China.Taitung runs along the south east...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

.

Overview

The museum was designed by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 architect Michael Graves

Michael Graves

Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....

 and is situated on a 10 ha (100,000 m³) parcel of land. The museum is divided into many sections, including: Sun Square, Mountain Square, Administrative Building, Children's Play Area, The Maze, Water Fountain Show, Bird Singing Square, and Sightseeing Hill.

History

In 1980, during the construction of the South Line Railway Station, building work uncovered prehistoric remains on the Peinan Site (卑南遺址). Many slate coffins and artifacts were discovered, and after a proposal by the Taitung City Government, construction on the station was halted. For 10 years, a National Taiwan University

National Taiwan University

National Taiwan University is a national co-educational university located in Taipei, Republic of China . In Taiwan, it is colloquially known as "Táidà" . Its main campus is set upon 1,086,167 square meters in Taipei's Da'an District. In addition, the university has 6 other campuses in Taiwan,...

-led team excavated the 10000 square metre site and uncovered over 1,500 burials and tens of thousands of artifacts. The site is widely regarded as the most important site of the mid-Neolithic age

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

in Taiwan.

An outdoor museum was proposed and approved in 1990. Trial operations began on July 10, 2001, and the museum officially opened on August 17, 2002.