Grooved Stone Sinker and Cast Net of Prehistorical Taiwan

The double grooved stone net sinker is one of the most frequently-seen archaeological remains from Taiwan sites, mainly neolithic. The sinker was tied to the edges of a cast net. Cast net fishing is usually applied at riversides, lagoons and the seashore. Cast-net fishing is considered as a unique fishing method, and was in widespread use within the Taiwan region. However, the line-hook method was a common fishing technique in the Taiwan peripheral area. Although cast-net fishing has also been found on the Pacific archipelagoes, it is believed this method was not introduced to these islands until much later. Besides, there were almost no double grooved stone net sinkers discovered from prehistoric sites. The research on the "Patu" and the "bark beater", which is cited to support the close relationship between Taiwan's prehistory and the Austronesian's peoples, compares archaeological data with the ethnographic data of today's Austronesians. Note however, that the time gap should be taken into consideration in these kind of comparison studies.