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约公元前5000年起，台湾最早的居民是南岛语系的原住民族，与菲律宾、马来西亚、印尼等地有文化语言上的渊源。出土的长滨文化、圆山文化等遗址表明，岛上早有渔猎与农业活动。“南岛语系”（Austronesian languages）是是世界第三大语系，仅次于尼日尔-刚果语系和汉藏语系。主要包括台湾、菲律宾、马来群岛、太平洋岛屿，甚至远至非洲东岸的马达加斯加。语言学界广泛认为台湾是南岛语系的起源地。而南岛民族，据说是人类史上最厉害的航海者之一，使用独木舟、天文导航，几千年前就横渡广阔海洋。
当时，台湾的南岛社会是部落制和首领制度，每个家族或领袖都想开辟自己的地盘，而台湾本岛地形多山、可耕地稀少。与此同时，航海可以建新村落、驯化新土地、开枝散叶，也被看作是是年轻男性“立功”的方式。在内部矛盾之下，也有族群被“放逐”或“自我流放”，另起炉灶。南岛文化里，海是连接，而不是阻隔。他们把海当家园，通过大海延续部族生命。
南岛人曾航海到菲律宾、印尼、马来群岛，也曾去米克罗西亚、美拉尼西亚、太平洋岛国，还从印尼跨越印度洋、到马达加斯加。马达加斯加语言（Malagasy）与婆罗洲语言惊人相似，是语言学证据的经典案例。他们传播了语言、文化，农业技术、航海知识，带去了芋头、香蕉、椰子、芋头、香蕉、椰子、甘蔗、粟米、山药，鸡、猪、狗。无论多远的孤岛，只要能生火种田，他们就能住下来。他们构成了今天这些国家的早期住民。
Preface: This article was co-written with the assistance of ChatGPT.
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Starting around 5000 BCE, the earliest known inhabitants of Taiwan were indigenous peoples belonging to the Austronesian language family, sharing linguistic and cultural roots with those in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Archaeological sites such as the Changbin and Yuanshan cultures indicate that fishing, hunting, and agricultural activities existed on the island long ago. The Austronesian languages constitute the third-largest language family in the world, after Niger-Congo and Sino-Tibetan. They are spoken across Taiwan, the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands, and as far as the eastern coast of Africa, in Madagascar. Linguists widely consider Taiwan the original homeland of the Austronesian language family. The Austronesian peoples are regarded as some of the most skilled seafarers in human history—navigating vast oceans in canoes, guided by the stars, thousands of years ago.
At the time, Austronesian societies in Taiwan were organized around tribal and chieftain systems. Each clan or leader sought to claim new territory, while the island’s mountainous terrain and limited arable land made expansion difficult. Seafaring offered a way to establish new settlements, cultivate new land, and extend family lines—it was also seen as a rite of passage or a way for young men to prove themselves. In times of internal conflict, some groups were exiled or chose self-exile, setting off to start anew. In Austronesian culture, the sea was not a barrier—it was a bridge. It was home. Through the ocean, they sustained and expanded their tribal life.
Austronesian peoples sailed to the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Malay Archipelago, as well as to Micronesia, Melanesia, and the islands of the Pacific. One remarkable branch crossed the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Madagascar. The Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar bears striking resemblance to languages found in Borneo—an iconic case study in linguistic evidence. These seafarers spread not only their languages and cultures but also agricultural and navigational knowledge. They brought taro, bananas, coconuts, sugarcane, millet, and yams—along with chickens, pigs, and dogs. No matter how remote the island, as long as they could make fire and grow crops, they could settle and thrive. They became the early inhabitants of many of today’s nations.