釐清臺灣史前建築與聚落研究之進路

Research Approaches of Prehistoric Architectures and Settlements in Taiwan

筆者早年涉入中國與臺灣傳統建築、中國城華人社區建築研究，進而原住民建築，逐漸發展出一文化型體與其建築關係圖。後因考察文化人類學理論發展，由文化生態學到生態人類學，另發展出族群居住文化之構念架構，並以之探究雅美、阿里山鄒、布農與邵族居住文化。此二者可謂個人對建築學與人類學理論架構之總結。近十年又因涉入由三抱竹、卑南遺址之建築遺跡推論、復原二史前文化人住居之計畫，開始臺灣史前建築之探索。本文即為這些研究進路之再釐清，以就教考古學與建築史學界同仁。
回顧考古學理論之發展，可知文化生態學同樣具關鍵性，引動了新考古學、過程考古學、聚落考古學以及民族考古學陸續出現。而筆者發展之二架構亦大致符合史前建築研究之範疇。只是考古遺址出土之建築遺跡現象多為石牆基、石板地坪與柱洞格局，其他有機材料多已不見。必須借助近代民族誌之原住民建築與居住文化為參考座標類推。至於建築人類學與考古學，經過回顧其發展，亦可知已獲相當理論、方法與案例研究之成果。
以上述回顧為基礎，筆者先採廣域的進路一：語言學家由臺灣廣義原住民族群之分歧語言，認定臺灣是整個南島語族發源地之一，加上前者文化（含居住文化）、社會組織、物質文化等之多樣性，以及臺灣嚴苛、多變化之自然地理、氣候環境條件，可判斷在近代以前之數千年間並無強勢外來他族群入臺。換言之，臺灣是民族考古學最佳之研究對象。僅單一南島語族在臺灣進行社會文化之演化歷程，於多方面由簡入繁。進路二：分辨各原住民族群建築基本型為二大類：對稱二坡頂屋、前坡長後坡短型依山坡屋。由技術簡繁排列，後者應為後起發展的，與熟練運用石材、石板有關。另由河姆渡遺址出土之柱列與語言學家由古南島語詞推論其居住文化面貌，可知最早之對稱二坡頂屋為干欄式的。另各族群之聚落型態基本分大小集村與散村，應由多因素促使成型。進路三：大致回顧現下已知出土建築遺跡之遺址，分為地表遺留舊社、文化層石排列與柱洞三類，並據以推論可能的高架、地面建築情形，以及無文獻可考之舊社與較晚連結現生原住民族群的舊社。筆者也以過往追索的三抱竹遺址柱洞、卑南與曲冰遺址地面石板屋基聚落為例，論述並推論、復原其建築樣貌之重點。
由三進路所得加上前述理論架構，筆者認為其正是研究各遺址出土建築、聚落遺跡現象，以及推論復原的可靠前提依據與座標。同時我們不可忽視臺灣史前南島語族傳承文化，以及順應、適應新區位自然或人文環境之創新與應變能力。

This research is based on three key dimensions of the author’s intellectual quest. First, a conceptual diagram that captures the relationship between cultural configuration and architecture, developed after a long-term investigation of traditional architecture in China, Taiwan, and the U.S. China towns in his earlier academic career as well as studies on indigenous architecture in Taiwan. The theoretical framework on the “dwelling culture” of ethnic groups serves as the second supporting pillar of this paper. It was formulated on the base of cultural anthropology theories that included cultural ecology and ecological anthropology and was later applied in in-depth studies of the Yami(Tao), the Tsou of Ali Mountain, the Thao, and the Bunun. To a large extent, these two frameworks sum up the author’s research on architectural and anthropological theories. Third, the reconstruction projects of architectural ruins of the Sanpaotsu (三抱竹)and Peinan (卑南) sitesin the past decade initiated the author into the field of pre-historic architecture in Taiwan. In this paper, the author proposes three trajectories to study pre-historic architecture and invites feedback from researchers in both archaeology and architecture.
The article first briefly reviews the development of archaeology and emphasizes that “cultural ecology” proposed by J. Steward played a key role in the field, being influential in the birth of new archaeology, processual archaeology, settlement archaeology, and ethno-archaeology. The two frameworks used by this author and their potential in studying prehistoric architecture are then discussed. It is important to note, however, that the cases originally used to formulate the frameworks are different from archaeological scenarios: the latter consist primarily of remains such as stone walls, floor foundations, and post holes, but little or no organic material. Therefore, the study of prehistoric architecture should be complemented with ethnographic analogy and a reference to the dwelling culture of indigenous peoples. This paper also introduces architectural anthropology, focusing on its theories, methodologies, and case studies.
Three research trajectories on prehistoric architecture are emphasized. The first is to further strengthen the ethno-archaeology of the Austronesian cultures in Taiwan. Many linguists have traced the origin of Austronesian peoples to Taiwan, based on the high diversity of Austronesian languages found on the island. Considering also the rich Austronesian cultures (including dwelling culture) and complex social organizations, coupled with difficult geological conditions and capricious climate, the author proposes that the Austronesian peoples have lived in Taiwan for thousands of years without large-scaled intrusions of other groups before modern times. In other words, Taiwan both witnesses and represents the cultural and social evolution of the Austronesians.
The second research trajectory is to classify indigenous architecture into two basic types: houses with symmetrical double-sloped roofs and those with asymmetrical double-sloped roofs. The latter is characterized by a longer front roof and a shorter rear roof and is usually attached to a mountain slope. It also requires more sophisticated technique to process stone materials and slate slabs and is generally considered a later development. The houses with symmetrical double-sloped roofs are conjectured to be stilt houses, based on research on post-hole arrangements in Hemudu and proto-Austronesian lexicon. Their settlement patterns with both large and small villages, segregated or scattered, should be identified.
The third trajectory is to re-examine sites with construction remains/features and to identify whether they are old villages, sites with post holes in cultural layers, or sites with lined stones/stone floor on the surface. The old villages will be further divided into villages with connections to existing ethnic groups and those without, based on oral traditions and historical records. The post-holes imply that the sites have posted buildings. Lined stone and stone floors are important clues for mapping out surface structures. This paper finally uses the examples of Sanpaotsu (post holes) and Peinan and Chubin (slate foundations)to demonstrate the process of architectural reconstruction by applying ethno-archeology and architectural anthropology.
The three trajectories combined with the afore-mentioned theories provide a solid basis to study the architecture and settlement remains/features of archaeological sites. It is also essential to learn from the cultural heritage of pre-historic Austronesian peoples and to take into consideration the human ability to accommodate and be creative in different natural and cultural environments.