Taiwan museum of prehistoric culture

Origins

The Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan (Tainan Science Park), originally part of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation’s Daoye and Shanhua farms, is located in the districts of Xinshi, Shanhua, and Anding in Tainan City. In 1995, planning began for the area to be made into a core site of science and industrial development. The Academia Sinica Institute of History and Philology was commissioned by the National Science and Technology Council to survey the already known archaeological sites in the area, and the Tree Valley Foundation’s archaeology center continued the survey and excavation of the area. To date, 82 archaeological sites have been discovered in the Southern Taiwan Science Park Special District and surrounding areas, 28 of which are within the confines of the Tainan Science Park. 14 are in Tree Valley Park, and the remaining 40 are scattered about the special district and nearby areas. The earliest of the prehistoric cultures discovered there is from about 5,000 ago, and the latest is from around 300 years ago, spanning a time frame of around 4,700 years.

To preserve what has been found there, the National Science and Technology Council and the Tainan County Government proposed the construction of a museum in 2002. In April of the following year, the Ministry of Education designated the National Museum of Prehistory as the custodian of the cultural relics unearthed at the science park and charged the museum with building a branch there. After effort by many organizations and people, the plan to build the Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch of the National Museum of Prehistory received approval from the Executive Yuan.

The Museum of Archaeology covers 24,219 square meters. In March 2010, the architectural firm KRIS YAO | ARTECH was selected to design and build the museum, and after several years of planning, construction began in June 2014 and was completed in November 2017. Thus a museum was born to serve as a developmental foundation for the preservation of prehistoric relics and research on cultural assets from southern Taiwan. 

Vision

1. Preserve and research cultural relics unearthed in the Tainan Science Park.
2. Display cultural relics unearthed in the Tainan Science Park.
3. Find a balance between the developments of technology and culture and make the park a place of both science and culture.
4. Promote education on the environment and local culture.
5. Serve as an exceptional venue for recreation and tourism related to the locale.
6. Expand the services of the National Museum of Prehistory.