Start at the top從最上面開始
The first layer holds things from our own time. A bottle cap is not treasure, but it is evidence: it says that people were here, and roughly when.
第一層是我們這個時代的東西。瓶蓋不是寶物，卻是證據：它說明這裡有過人，也大致說明是什麼時候。
Taiwan's Story · Unit 1 · Lesson 1 · 台灣歷史 單元一 第一課
How Do We Know What Happened Long Ago?很久以前的事，我們怎麼知道？
Dig down through five layers of a test pit and watch the timeline run backward. Sort eight things into three kinds of evidence, and decide what you would need to know when two people tell the same story differently.
在探坑裡一層一層往下挖，看時間軸跟著往回走。把八樣東西分成三種證據，再想一想：兩個人把同一件事說得不一樣的時候，你還需要知道什麼。
Big idea · 一句話看懂
We know the past through evidence: things people left behind, records they wrote or drew, and words passed down from one generation to the next. For the long time before writing, we depend on archaeology, and in ground that has not been disturbed, the deeper layer is the older one.
我們靠證據知道過去：留下來的東西、寫下來或畫下來的記錄、一代一代傳下來的話。沒有文字的漫長時代要靠考古；沒有被擾動過的地層，越下面越古老。
3D Model · 3D 模型
A Test Pit, Layer by Layer 一層一層往下挖的探坑
Press “Dig one layer down,” or drag the slider. Each layer has its own step in the pit, and the things found in that layer stay on that step. Watch the timeline on the right: the marker moves back in time as the floor of the pit goes down. Tap a find, in the model or in the list, to see what it is, about how old it is, and how anyone can know that.
按「往下挖一層」，或拖動滑桿。探坑挖成階梯，每一層有自己的一階，那一層出土的東西就留在那一階上。看右邊的時間軸：坑底越往下，標記就越往回走。點一樣出土物（在模型裡或清單裡都可以），看看它是什麼、大約多久以前、又是怎麼知道的。
Illustration, not a real site · 示意圖，不是真實的遺址
Drag to turn · 拖曳旋轉 Scroll or pinch to zoom · 滾輪／雙指縮放
This 3D model needs WebGL, which this browser does not support. The slider, the timeline, and the list of finds beside it still work, and so do the reading, the cards, and the games.
這個瀏覽器不支援 WebGL，無法顯示 3D 模型；旁邊的滑桿、時間軸和出土物清單照樣能用，課文、卡片和小遊戲也都能用。
- Layer 1, topsoil: today back to about 100 years ago
第 1 層 表土：現在到約 100 年前 - Layer 2: about 100 to 400 years ago
第 2 層：約 100 到 400 年前 - Layer 3: about 400 to 2,500 years ago
第 3 層：約 400 到 2,500 年前 - Layer 4: about 2,500 to 5,500 years ago
第 4 層：約 2,500 到 5,500 年前 - Layer 5: about 5,500 to 30,000 years ago
第 5 層：約 5,500 到 3 萬年前 - Below: natural ground with no traces of people
最下面：沒有人類活動痕跡的生土
An illustration, not a real site. The layers, their depths, and every find are made up for teaching; no real excavation in Taiwan looks exactly like this, and a real site rarely has every period stacked this neatly. Only the order follows what the National Museum of Prehistory describes for Taiwan in broad terms: chipped stone tools without pottery are the oldest, then pottery with polished stone tools, then iron and glass beads. A real test pit is also much smaller, and its layers are seldom this flat.
這是示意圖，不是真實的遺址。地層、深度和每一樣出土物都是為了教學編出來的；台灣沒有哪一個真實的探坑長得一模一樣，真實的遺址也很少把每個時代疊得這麼整齊。只有「先後順序」依照國立臺灣史前文化博物館對台灣史前時代的大致說明：只有打製石器、沒有陶器的最古老，接著是陶器和磨製石器，再來是鐵器與玻璃珠。真正的探坑也小得多，地層很少這麼平。
Model and code are drawn and programmed by My Culture Connect. Depth, time, and the order of the layers are computed in tools/twhist/src/strata.js and timeline.js, with tests. 模型與程式由人師教育協會自行繪製；深度、年代與地層順序的換算有測試。
Reading · 英文閱讀
1
Unit 1: How Do We Know What Happened Long Ago?
What did you eat for breakfast last Tuesday? You may not remember. Now try a harder question: what did people in Taiwan eat three thousand years ago? Nobody alive today saw it, and nobody at the time wrote it down. Yet historians and archaeologists can still tell us a good deal about the distant past. They do not guess. They work like detectives. They look for evidence, and they say only what the evidence lets them say. This lesson is about that evidence: where it comes from, how it is read, and why careful people sometimes read it differently.
上星期二的早餐，你吃了什麼？你可能不記得了。現在換一個更難的問題：三千年前住在台灣的人吃什麼？今天活著的人沒有一個親眼看過，當時也沒有人把它寫下來。可是歷史學家和考古學家，還是能告訴我們不少很久以前的事。他們不是用猜的。他們像偵探一樣工作：先找證據，而且證據能說到哪裡，他們就只說到哪裡。這一課要談的就是這些證據：它們從哪裡來、怎麼解讀，以及為什麼認真的人有時候會讀出不一樣的結果。
Evidence of the past comes in three main kinds. The first is things: a pot, a stone tool, a coin, a house. An object that people made or changed is called an artifact. The second is records that people wrote or drew: letters, diaries, maps, photographs. The third is words passed down by mouth, such as the stories, songs, and memories that older people give to younger people. When someone records those memories in an interview, we call it oral history. A source made at the time of the events is a primary source. A source made later by someone without firsthand experience, such as a textbook, is a secondary source.
關於過去的證據，主要有三種。第一種是東西：一個陶罐、一件石器、一枚硬幣、一棟房子。人做出來或加工過的物品，叫做文物。第二種是人寫下來或畫下來的記錄：信、日記、地圖、照片。第三種是用嘴巴傳下來的話，例如長輩說給晚輩聽的故事、歌謠和回憶。有人用訪談把這些回憶記錄下來，就叫做口述歷史。事情發生的那個時候留下來的資料，是一手史料。後來才由沒有親身經歷的人寫成的資料（例如課本），是二手史料。
Writing is young compared with people. The National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung points to a text written in 1603 as the earliest record of customs in Taiwan. But people were on the island long before that. The oldest culture found so far, called the Changbin Culture, goes back about 30,000 years. The time before written records is called prehistory, and in Taiwan it covers almost all of the human past. Taiwan’s school curriculum says that the island’s earliest inhabitants left no written materials, and it names the two most important paths for tracing them: archaeological finds and oral traditions.
和人類比起來，文字很年輕。位在臺東的國立臺灣史前文化博物館指出，1603 年寫成的一篇文字是最早關於台灣風俗的紀錄。但早在那之前，島上就已經有人了。目前發現最古老的文化叫做長濱文化，可以往回推到大約 3 萬年前。還沒有文字記錄的時代叫做史前時代；在台灣，它幾乎占了人類在這裡的全部時間。台灣的課程綱要說，臺灣最早的主人們沒有留下文字資料；要追索他們的足跡，最重要的兩條途徑是考古資料和口頭傳說。
Archaeology is the study of the human past through the things people left behind. Much of that evidence is under the ground. Year after year, soil, sand, and trash pile up, one layer on top of another. So in ground that has not been disturbed, a deeper layer is older than the layer above it. This rule is called the law of superposition. It lets an archaeologist put finds in order (this pot is older than that knife) even without knowing how many years old either one is. That is why archaeologists dig slowly and write down exactly where each thing lay.
考古學是透過人留下來的東西，來研究人類的過去。這些證據有很多埋在地下。一年又一年，泥土、沙子和垃圾越堆越高，一層疊著一層。所以，只要地層沒有被擾動過，下面那一層就比上面那一層古老。這條規則叫做疊置定律。有了它，考古學家就算不知道兩樣東西各是幾年前的，也能排出先後（這個陶罐比那把刀早）。這就是為什麼考古學家挖得很慢，而且要把每一樣東西躺在哪裡，一五一十地記下來。
To put a number on the age, scientists need other tools. One of the best known is radiocarbon dating. It works on things that were once alive, such as wood, bone, or shell, and it reaches back about 50,000 years. The answer is never one exact year. It comes as a range, and it can change when new samples are tested. At the Baxian Caves in eastern Taiwan, earlier tests placed the site between 5,000 and 15,000 years ago. Tests reported in 2009 gave an age of more than 20,000 years. When the evidence changes, good history changes with it.
要說出「幾年前」這個數字，科學家還需要別的工具。最有名的方法之一是碳十四定年。它可以用在曾經活過的東西上，例如木頭、骨頭或貝殼，最遠能測到大約 5 萬年前。答案從來不是準確的某一年，而是一個範圍；有新的樣本拿去測，答案也可能改變。在台灣東部的八仙洞，早期的測定把這個遺址放在距今 5,000 到 1 萬 5,000 年之間；2009 年公布的測定結果則是超過 2 萬年。證據變了，好的歷史也跟著改。
Evidence is never complete, and people do not always read it the same way. Two witnesses can remember one day differently. Two institutions can give different dates for one culture. People who stood on different sides of an event often tell it in different words. So every lesson in this series has two special cards. “How Do We Know?” shows the evidence behind the lesson and where it is kept. “Different Views” puts accounts that disagree side by side, with their sources, and does not pick a winner. Your part is to ask: Who made this? When? Why? Does anything else agree with it?
證據永遠不會是完整的，人們解讀證據的方式也不一定相同。兩個目擊者，對同一天的記憶可能不一樣。兩個機構，對同一個文化可能給出不同的年代。站在事件不同位置的人，常常用不同的話來說它。所以這個系列的每一課都有兩張特別的卡。「我們怎麼知道？」告訴你這一課依據的證據是什麼、收藏在哪裡。「不同的說法」把互相不一致的說法並列，各自附上出處，不替誰下結論。你要做的是問：這是誰做的？什麼時候？為什麼？還有別的證據和它一致嗎？
Read aloud · 課文朗讀
Questions · 閱讀理解
What are the three main kinds of evidence about the past? Give one example of each.
Things (for example a pot or a stone tool), records that people wrote or drew (a letter, a map, a photograph), and words passed down by mouth (a grandmother’s story or a song).
An archaeologist finds a pot in a layer below an iron knife. What can she say about their ages, and what must be true about the ground?
She can say the pot is older than the knife, even without knowing either age in years. This holds only if the ground has not been disturbed, for example by a pit dug later.
Why does every lesson in this series have a card called “Different Views”?
Because evidence is never complete and people read it differently. The card puts the accounts side by side with their sources and does not choose one, so readers can think for themselves.
Words & Phrases · 生字及片語
evidence(n.)證據The burned wood is evidence that people once made a fire here.燒過的木頭是證據，說明曾經有人在這裡生過火。artifact(n.)文物（考古出土的又叫「遺物」）The museum keeps each artifact in a box with a label.博物館把每一件文物放在貼了標籤的盒子裡。primary source(n.)一手史料（第一手資料）A diary written during the trip is a primary source.旅途中寫的日記，是一手史料。secondary source(n.)二手史料（第二手資料）Your history textbook is a secondary source.你的歷史課本是二手史料。oral history(n.)口述歷史We recorded Grandpa’s memories as an oral history project.我們把阿公的回憶錄下來，當作口述歷史的作業。archaeology(n.)考古學Archaeology can tell us about people who left no writing.考古學能讓我們認識沒有留下文字的人。prehistory(n.)史前時代In prehistory, nobody wrote down what happened.史前時代，沒有人把發生的事寫下來。layer(n.)層；地層The deepest layer in the pit is the oldest.探坑裡最深的那一層最古老。
Quick Check · 小測驗
1. Which of these is a primary source for a school trip in 1990?
2. In ground that has not been disturbed, which layer is the oldest?
3. Which of these can be radiocarbon dated?
4. What do we call the time before written records?
5. Two accounts of the same event disagree. What does a careful historian do first?
Try It in the Model · 在模型裡試試
Four things to watch 四件值得看的事
After the four cards, fill the pit back in and dig it again slowly. Before each layer opens, guess: will the things in it look more like ours, or less?
看完四張卡以後，把探坑全部回填，再慢慢挖一次。每挖開一層之前先猜一猜：裡面的東西會和我們用的更像，還是更不像？
Deeper is older越深越古老
Watch the pit go down and the marker on the timeline go back. The steps are not equal: the last layer covers far more years than the first four together.
看探坑往下、時間軸上的標記往回。每一階並不一樣長：最後一層涵蓋的年數，比前四層加起來還多得多。
A number for the age替年代定一個數字
Stone was never alive, so radiocarbon dating cannot be used on it. Charcoal can be dated, because wood was once alive. The stone tool beside the fire borrows its date from the charcoal.
石頭從來不是活的，不能做碳十四定年。木炭可以，因為木頭曾經是活的。火堆旁邊的那件石器，年代是向木炭「借」來的。
When the rule breaks規則不管用的時候
Someone dug a hole long after the lower layers formed. Now a young shard lies deep down. The darker soil around it is the clue.
下面幾層早就堆好以後，有人挖了一個洞。於是一片年輕的瓷片躺在很深的地方。它周圍那塊顏色比較深的土，就是線索。
On the Timeline · 在時間軸上
Where this lesson sits 這一課講的是哪裡
Most lessons in this series cover one stretch of time. This one covers the whole line, because it is about how we know any of it. Try the second scale: every year the same width.
這個系列大部分的課只講一段時間。這一課講的是整條線，因為它談的是「我們怎麼知道」。試試第二種尺度：每一年一樣寬。
On the “every year the same width” scale, the time with written records, from 1603 to today, is less than 1 percent of this line. For the long stretch to the left of it, the main evidence is archaeology and oral tradition. The year 1603 is a marker taken from the National Museum of Prehistory, not a wall: records do not begin all at once.在「每一年一樣寬」的尺度上，有文字記錄的時代（1603 年到現在）還不到這條線的百分之一。它左邊那一長段，主要的證據是考古和口傳。1603 年是依國立臺灣史前文化博物館的說法取的一個記號，不是一道牆——文字記錄不是在某一天突然開始的。
Game · 小遊戲
What Kind of Evidence Is It? 這是哪一種證據？
Eight things, one at a time. Put each one in the basket where it fits best. There is no timer; the game only counts how many you place correctly on the first try.
八樣東西，一次出現一樣。把它放進最合適的籃子。這裡不計時；遊戲只記下你第一次就分對幾樣。
The three baskets are a teaching tool, not an official list. Some books add a fourth group for pictures, and many things belong to more than one group. What matters is the question behind the game: how did this piece of the past reach us?三個籃子是教學用的分法，不是官方的分類。有的書會把圖像另外分成第四類，很多東西也同時屬於不只一類。重要的是遊戲背後的那個問題：這一小塊過去，是怎麼傳到我們手上的？
Think Like a Historian · 像歷史學家一樣想
Two People, Two Stories 兩個人說的不一樣
A made-up case from an ordinary school. Two records of the same school field day do not agree. There is no right answer to find here. The point is to learn what to ask.
一個編出來的例子，發生在一所普通的學校。同一場運動會的兩份記錄，說的不一樣。這裡沒有標準答案要找；重點是學會問問題。
The school, the classes, and both records are invented for this exercise. The four questions follow the reading habits that historians use, called sourcing and corroboration (see Sources).這所學校、這些班級和兩份記錄，都是為了這個練習編出來的。四個問題依據的是歷史學家閱讀史料的習慣：先看來源（sourcing），再找別的資料互相印證（corroboration），見資料出處。
How Do We Know? · 我們怎麼知道？
The evidence behind this lesson 這一課依據的證據
Every lesson in this series has this card. It lists what the lesson rests on and where you can go to check.
這個系列的每一課都有這張卡。它列出這一課依據的是什麼，以及你可以到哪裡自己查。
🪨Things · archaeology東西・考古
Stone tools and fire pits at the Baxian Caves八仙洞的石器與火塘
The Baxian Caves in Changbin Township, Taitung County, are a National Archaeological Site and the site that represents the Changbin Culture. People there made stone tools by chipping and did not yet make pottery.臺東縣長濱鄉的八仙洞是國定考古遺址，也是長濱文化的代表遺址。當時的人以打製的方式做石器，還不會做陶器。
Where it is kept · 收藏在哪裡The Bureau of Cultural Heritage lists the site and its finds in its national database. A small exhibition room at the Baxian Caves visitor center shows excavated specimens.文化部文化資產局的「國家考古遺址出土遺物典藏系統」收錄了這個遺址與出土遺物。八仙洞遊客服務中心設有小展覽室，展示考古發掘的標本。
Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture · 文化部文化資產局 ↗📜A written record文字記錄
Chen Di, Dongfan ji (1603)陳第《東番記》（1603 年）
The National Museum of Prehistory calls this text, by the Ming-dynasty writer Chen Di, the earliest record of customs in Taiwan. The museum adds that it brought Taiwan into the historical period of the Han people, in the museum’s words, a reminder that a written record is always somebody’s record.國立臺灣史前文化博物館說，明朝的陳第在這篇文字裡留下最早關於台灣風俗的紀錄。博物館接著說，它讓台灣走進了「漢人的」歷史時期——這也提醒我們：文字記錄永遠是「某個人」留下的記錄。
Where to read about it · 去哪裡讀Explained in the museum’s audio guide “From Prehistory into History.” Lesson 4 will look at early written and drawn records of Taiwan more closely.見史前館語音導覽〈從史前走進歷史〉。第四課會更仔細地看早期關於台灣的文字與圖像記錄。
National Museum of Prehistory · 國立臺灣史前文化博物館 ↗🗣️Words passed down口傳
The oral traditions of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples台灣原住民族的口傳
Taiwan’s national curriculum says that the island’s earliest inhabitants left no written materials, and that archaeological materials and oral traditions are the two most important ways to trace them. Lessons 2 and 3 follow both paths.課程綱要說：臺灣最早的主人們沒有留下文字資料，要追索他們在臺灣的足跡，考古資料和口頭傳說是最重要的兩個途徑。第二、三課會沿著這兩條路走。
Where it lives · 保存在哪裡In the memory of each community. The Council of Indigenous Peoples publishes research on these traditions in its journal Indigenous Peoples’ Documents.在各個部落與族群的記憶裡。原住民族委員會的《原住民族文獻》期刊刊登相關的研究。
12-Year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, Social Studies (2018), notes to 歷 Ba-Ⅳ-1 and Ba-Ⅳ-2 · 十二年國教社會領域課綱 ↗🧪A method方法
Radiocarbon dating碳十四定年
The ages of the Baxian Caves in this lesson come from this method. It measures how much carbon-14 is left in something that was once alive. Results are given as a range of years.這一課裡八仙洞的年代，靠的就是這個方法。它測量「曾經活過的東西」裡還剩下多少碳十四；結果是一個年代範圍。
Where it is done · 在哪裡做Not a thing in a museum but a measurement made in a laboratory. The Earth and Weather lesson “How Do We Know How Old the Earth Is?” explains how this kind of clock works.這不是博物館裡的一件東西，而是實驗室裡做的測量。「地球與天氣」的〈我們怎麼知道地球幾歲？〉說明了這一類「時鐘」的原理。
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, “Radiocarbon Calibration” ↗Different Views · 不同的說法
Same culture, different numbers 同一個文化，不一樣的數字
Even careful institutions do not always give the same dates. Here are two examples from this lesson, side by side, each with its source.
就算是嚴謹的機構，給的年代也不一定相同。下面是這一課裡的兩個例子，並列在一起，各自附上出處。
How long did Taiwan’s oldest known culture last?台灣目前所知最古老的文化，延續了多久？
National Museum of Prehistory國立臺灣史前文化博物館
The Changbin Culture dates from about 30,000 to 5,000 years ago.長濱文化「時間大約在30,000年到5,000年前之間」。
National Museum of Prehistory, “Paleolithic” · 史前館〈舊石器時代〉 ↗Bureau of Cultural Heritage文化部文化資產局
At the Baxian Caves, the Paleolithic layer dates from about 30,000 to 15,000 years ago. A later layer, 6,000 to 4,800 years ago, is listed separately as “pre-ceramic,” followed by younger layers.八仙洞的代表文化層：「距今約30000-15000年（舊石器時代）、6000-4800年（先陶時代）……」，分成好幾段來列。
Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Baxian Caves site record · 文資局 八仙洞考古遺址 ↗Both agree on where the story starts: about 30,000 years ago. After that the two are hard to line up. One gives a span for a whole culture; the other lists the layers of a single site and gives the later ones other names. Neither is careless. They are answering slightly different questions.兩邊對「從哪裡開始」的說法一致：大約 3 萬年前。接下來兩邊就不容易對起來。一邊說的是整個文化的年代；另一邊列的是一個遺址的每一層，後面幾層還用了別的名稱。兩邊都不是隨便說的——它們回答的問題略有不同。
How old are the oldest traces of people at the Baxian Caves?八仙洞最早的人類活動痕跡，有多古老？
Before 20092009 年以前
Samples collected in 1968 and 1969 gave dates of about 15,000 and about 5,000 years, so the site was placed between 5,000 and 15,000 years ago.1968 到 1969 年採集的樣本，測得的年代在 1 萬 5,000 年和 5,000 年前後，所以這個遺址一直被界定在距今 5,000 到 1 萬 5,000 年之間。
Central News Agency report (2009), posted by the National Museum of Prehistory · 中央社報導，史前館轉載 ↗Reported in 20092009 年公布
A new survey found fire pits in the caves, and radiocarbon dating showed the site to be more than 20,000 years old.新的調查在洞裡找到火塘，碳十四年代測定證明八仙洞遺址距今超過 2 萬年。
Central News Agency report (2009), posted by the National Museum of Prehistory · 中央社報導，史前館轉載 ↗The site record today現在的遺址資料
The Bureau of Cultural Heritage lists the oldest layer as about 30,000 to 15,000 years old.文化資產局把最古老的文化層列為距今約 30,000 到 15,000 年。
Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Baxian Caves site record · 文資局 八仙洞考古遺址 ↗This is not a quarrel. It is one story changing as new evidence came in. The caves did not get older; the samples and the methods got better. A date printed in an older book may simply be the best answer that was available then.這不是在吵架，而是同一個故事隨著新的證據在改寫。山洞沒有變老；變好的是樣本和方法。舊書上印的年代，可能只是當時能得到的最好答案。
In later lessons this card will hold harder disagreements: about names, about people, and about events that some families still remember. The rule stays the same. Views are set side by side, each with its source, and the lesson does not choose.後面的課裡，這張卡會放進更難的分歧：關於名稱、關於人物，還有一些家庭至今仍然記得的事件。規則不變——說法並列、各附出處，課文不替誰選邊。
History English · 歷史英語
Eight sentences for talking about the past 談過去的八句英文
Historians choose their words to show how sure they are. Tap a speaker to hear each sentence, then try changing the part in bold.
歷史學家用字很小心，為的是讓人知道他有多大的把握。點 🔊 聽每一句，再試著把粗體的部分換掉。
- About 30,000 years ago, people were already living in Taiwan.大約 3 萬年前，台灣就已經有人居住了。about … years ago: for a date that is an estimate.about … years ago：年代是估計的時候用。
- In 1603, Chen Di wrote a text called Dongfan ji.1603 年，陳第寫了一篇叫《東番記》的文字。in + year: for a date we know exactly. Say “sixteen oh three.”in＋年份：確切知道年份時用。1603 唸作 sixteen oh three。
- The seventeenth century means the years from 1601 to 1700.十七世紀指的是 1601 年到 1700 年。1603 is in the seventeenth century, not the sixteenth: the first hundred years were the first century.1603 年屬於十七世紀，不是十六世紀：因為最開始的一百年是「第一世紀」。
- According to the museum, the culture began about 30,000 years ago.根據博物館的說法，這個文化大約從 3 萬年前開始。according to: says whose statement it is.according to：說明這是誰的說法。
- This layer is older than the one above it.這一層比它上面那一層古老。older than / younger than: to put two things in order.older than／younger than：替兩樣東西排先後。
- We know this because archaeologists found charcoal in the cave.我們知道這件事，是因為考古學家在洞裡找到了木炭。We know this because …: gives the evidence.We know this because …：把證據說出來。
- The evidence suggests that people made fires here.證據顯示，曾經有人在這裡生火。suggests: likely, but not certain. Stronger: shows. Weaker: may mean.suggests：很可能，但不是百分之百。更肯定用 shows，更保留用 may mean。
- Historians disagree about this, so we show both views.歷史學家對這件事看法不一，所以我們把兩種說法都列出來。disagree about: there is more than one view.disagree about：對某件事有不只一種看法。
In Taiwan · 在台灣
A long time without writing, and where to see the evidence 一段很長、沒有文字的時間，以及去哪裡親眼看證據
Four short notes that connect this lesson to Taiwan.
四則短短的說明，把這一課和台灣連起來。
Prehistory · 史前
What “prehistory” means「史前」是什麼意思
The National Museum of Prehistory explains it this way: prehistory is the age without written records, when people passed on what had happened by word of mouth, from one generation to the next; once written records appear, the historical period begins. “Prehistory” does not mean that nothing happened, or that people had no past. It only says what kind of evidence we have.
國立臺灣史前文化博物館這樣說明：史前時期是指沒有文字紀錄的年代，史前人們用口語流傳的方式，把過去發生的事一代傳一代地說給後代子孫聽；當文字記錄開始出現，就是所謂的歷史時期。「史前」不是說那時候沒發生什麼事，也不是說那時候的人沒有過去——它說的只是「我們手上有哪一種證據」。
Oral tradition · 口傳
Knowledge carried by voice用聲音傳下來的知識
A study published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples notes that Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples have long been described as passing on knowledge by word of mouth. The Council’s website introduces the officially recognized peoples one by one. The school curriculum uses “Indigenous peoples” in a wider, historical sense that also includes the Pingpu peoples and other Indigenous groups.
原住民族委員會刊登的一篇研究指出，臺灣原住民族一向被認為是以口傳方式溝通交流、傳承知識。原民會的網站逐一介紹法定的原住民族；課程綱要裡的「原住民族」則是從歷史文化的角度來說，範圍比較廣，包含法定原住民族、平埔族群及其他原住民族群。
A date that moved · 會改的年代
The Baxian Caves八仙洞
For decades the Baxian Caves in Taitung were placed between 5,000 and 15,000 years ago. In 2009 a new survey found fire pits, and radiocarbon dating put the site at more than 20,000 years. Today’s site record says about 30,000. The lesson is not that the old books were bad. It is that a date is an answer to a question, and the answer improves.
幾十年來，臺東的八仙洞一直被放在距今 5,000 到 1 萬 5,000 年之間。2009 年，新的調查找到火塘，碳十四定年把這個遺址推到 2 萬年以上；現在的遺址資料寫的是大約 3 萬年。這不是說舊書不好，而是：年代是「一個問題的答案」，而答案會越來越好。
Go and see · 親眼看
Three national museums三座國立博物館
You can see this kind of evidence yourself. The National Museum of Prehistory is in Taitung City, and its Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch, is in Xinshi District, Tainan. The National Museum of Taiwan History is in Annan District, Tainan. The National Taiwan Museum is in Zhongzheng District, Taipei. When you visit, read the labels the way a historian would: what is it, where was it found, and how do they know its age?
這類證據，你可以自己去看。國立臺灣史前文化博物館在臺東市，它的南科考古館在臺南市新市區；國立臺灣歷史博物館在臺南市安南區；國立臺灣博物館在臺北市中正區。去的時候，試著像歷史學家一樣讀說明牌：這是什麼？在哪裡出土的？他們怎麼知道它的年代？
Myth vs. Fact · 常見迷思
Four things people get wrong 四個常見的誤會
✗ Myth · 迷思History is a fixed list of facts. Once it is in a book, it never changes.歷史就是一串固定的事實，寫進書裡就不會再變。
✓ Fact · 事實What happened does not change, but what we know about it does. New evidence moved the age of the Baxian Caves from under 15,000 years to more than 20,000.發生過的事不會變，但我們對它的了解會變。新的證據，把八仙洞的年代從 1 萬 5,000 年以內改成 2 萬年以上。
✗ Myth · 迷思If nobody wrote it down, we cannot know anything about it.沒有人寫下來的事，我們就什麼都不可能知道。
✓ Fact · 事實Things and spoken words are evidence too. Most of the human past in Taiwan lies in the time before written records.東西和口耳相傳的話也是證據。人類在台灣的過去，大部分落在沒有文字記錄的時代。
✗ Myth · 迷思Whatever lies deeper is always older.埋得比較深的東西，一定比較古老。
✓ Fact · 事實Only in ground that has not been disturbed. A pit dug later, or a plow turning the soil, can mix the layers and leave younger things below older ones.只有在沒被擾動過的地層才成立。後來挖的坑，或犁田翻土，都可能把地層弄亂，讓年輕的東西跑到古老的東西下面。
✗ Myth · 迷思A primary source always tells the truth.一手史料說的一定是真的。
✓ Fact · 事實A primary source is close to the event, which is valuable. But its maker stood in one place and had a point of view. Historians compare it with other evidence.一手史料離事情很近，這很寶貴。但留下它的人只站在一個位置，也有自己的觀點。歷史學家會拿別的證據來對照。
Remember It · 記憶口訣
Four things to keep in your pocket 四句帶著走的話
Things, records, spoken words東西、記錄、口傳
Three ways the past reaches us. For any piece of evidence, ask which one it is.
過去傳到我們手上的三條路。遇到一份證據，先問它是哪一種。
Deeper is older, if nobody dug越深越老——如果沒人動過
The law of superposition, with its small print attached.
疊置定律，連同它那行小字一起記。
Who? When? Why? Who else?誰？何時？為什麼？還有誰？
Who made it, when, and why, and does anything else agree?
誰留下的、什麼時候、為什麼，還有沒有別的證據和它一致？
“About,” not “exactly”是「大約」，不是「剛好」
Old dates are ranges. Saying “about” is not weakness. It is honesty.
古老的年代都是範圍。說「大約」不是沒把握，而是老實。
For Teachers · 給老師的提醒
Curriculum links, terms, and how this series handles hard topics 課綱對應、名詞，以及這個系列怎麼處理敏感的題目
- Curriculum links (12-Year Basic Education, social studies). Junior high history content: 歷 A-Ⅳ-1 (ways of counting years and dividing periods), 歷 Ba-Ⅳ-1 (archaeological excavation and prehistoric cultures), 歷 Ba-Ⅳ-2 (migrations and traditions of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples). Performance: 歷 1c-Ⅳ-1 (telling historical fact from historical interpretation). Elementary stage 3: Cb-Ⅲ-2 (cultural heritage left in Taiwan by prehistoric, Indigenous, and other cultures) and 3b-Ⅲ-1 (gathering information while keeping different views in mind).課綱對應（十二年國教社會領域）。國中歷史學習內容：歷 A-Ⅳ-1「紀年與分期」、歷 Ba-Ⅳ-1「考古發掘與史前文化」、歷 Ba-Ⅳ-2「臺灣原住民族的遷徙與傳說」。學習表現：歷 1c-Ⅳ-1「區別歷史事實與歷史解釋」。國小第三學習階段：Cb-Ⅲ-2，以及 3b-Ⅲ-1「透過適當的管道蒐集社會議題的相關資料，並兼顧不同觀點或意見」。
- Terms. The National Academy for Educational Research term bank has no history-specific entry for primary or secondary source; its library-science list gives 一手資料 and 二手資料. This lesson writes 一手史料 and 二手史料, using 史料, the curriculum’s own word for historical sources. For the law of superposition the term bank’s school-textbook list gives 疊積定律 or 疊置定律; for radiocarbon dating its geology list gives 放射性碳定年法 or 碳十四定年法.名詞。國家教育研究院樂詞網沒有歷史學科的 primary source／secondary source 條目，圖書館學名詞作「一手資料」「二手資料」；本課寫成「一手史料」「二手史料」，用的是課綱自己的用詞「史料」。law of superposition 在樂詞網的中小學教科書名詞作「疊積定律；疊置定律」；radiocarbon dating 在兩岸對照名詞（地質）作「放射性碳定年法；碳十四定年法」。
- The pit is generic. Please tell students it is not a real site. If you want a real example, the National Museum of Prehistory’s online pages on the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Iron Age (see Sources) are a good next step, and Lesson 2 will visit real sites.探坑是通用的示意，請告訴學生它不是真實的遺址。想要真實的例子，史前館網站上舊石器時代、新石器時代、鐵器時代的三頁說明（見資料出處）是很好的下一步；第二課會帶學生看真實的遺址。
- How the series handles hard topics. It reports only what sources support; where accounts differ it sets them side by side and does not conclude. It does not evaluate living political figures, discuss present-day parties, or take a position on Taiwan’s political status. It ends in 1996. Wording follows the national curriculum, and Indigenous peoples are treated as present in every period, not as background.這個系列怎麼處理敏感的題目：只寫史料查得到的事；說法不一樣的地方並列，不下結論。不評價在世的政治人物、不談現在的政黨、不對台灣的政治地位表態；內容寫到 1996 年為止。用詞以課綱為準；原住民族在每一個時代都在場，不是背景。
Classroom Activity 1 · 課堂活動一
Interview an Elder 訪問一位長輩
You need · 準備材料
- A notebook and pencil, or a phone that can record sound (ask permission first)筆記本和鉛筆，或可以錄音的手機（先徵求同意）
- Three questions prepared in advance事先準備好的三個問題
- An older family member or neighbor who is willing to talk一位願意聊聊的家中長輩或鄰居
Steps · 步驟
- Choose one small thing to ask about: “What was your school like?” or “What did you eat on New Year’s Eve when you were ten?”選一件小事來問：「你的學校長什麼樣子？」或「你十歲那年的除夕吃什麼？」
- Ask, and then listen. Write down the person’s own words where you can. Note the date, the place, and who was speaking.問完就專心聽。盡量照對方的原話記下來。寫上日期、地點，以及說話的人是誰。
- Ask one follow-up question: “How do you know?” or “Who else was there?”再追問一個問題：「你怎麼知道的？」或「當時還有誰在場？」
- In class, tell the story in three English sentences, starting with “According to my …”回到課堂上，用三句英文把故事說出來，第一句用「According to my …」開頭。
You have just made a primary source: an oral history, with a date and a name on it. If two students interview people about the same event, compare what they heard. Do not correct the elders. Ask instead why the memories might differ. Always ask before recording, and let the person skip any question.
你剛剛做出了一份一手史料：一份口述歷史，上面有日期，也有名字。如果有兩位同學訪問到同一件事，把聽到的拿來比一比。不要去糾正長輩，而是問：為什麼兩個人的記憶會不一樣？錄音之前一定要先問；對方不想回答的問題，就跳過。
Classroom Activity 2 · 課堂活動二
The Story of One Old Thing 一樣舊東西的故事
You need · 準備材料
- One old object from home that is safe to carry (or a photo of it)從家裡帶一樣可以安全攜帶的舊東西（或它的照片）
- An index card for a museum label一張小卡片，用來寫說明牌
- A ruler一把尺
Steps · 步驟
- Look before you ask. What is it made of? How big is it? Is it worn, mended, or marked?先看，再問。它是什麼做的？多大？有沒有磨損、修補過的痕跡，或上面有沒有字？
- Guess how old it is and write down your reason: “I think it is about … years old because …”猜猜它有多舊，並寫下理由：「I think it is about … years old because …」
- Now ask at home. Who used it? When? Is there a date on it, or a photo that shows it?現在回家問。誰用過它？什麼時候？它上面有沒有日期，或有沒有哪張照片拍到它？
- Write a label: what it is, about how old, and how you know. Set out the class’s objects from oldest to newest.寫一張說明牌：這是什麼、大約多舊、你怎麼知道的。把全班的東西從最舊排到最新。
Step 2 is relative dating from the object alone; step 3 adds a record or an oral account. Ask which objects were hardest to place in the line, and what evidence would settle it. Remind students to ask permission before taking anything from home, and not to bring anything fragile or valuable.
第二步是只憑東西本身做相對定年；第三步加上了文字記錄或口述。問問學生：哪幾樣東西最難排進隊伍裡？要有什麼證據才排得定？提醒學生：從家裡拿東西之前要先問過大人，易碎或貴重的東西不要帶來。
Go Further · 延伸閱讀
How dating works, and what comes next 定年的原理，以及下一課
Earth and Weather · Lesson 15 · 地球與天氣・第十五課How Do We Know How Old the Earth Is?我們怎麼知道地球幾歲？The same idea on a much longer scale: layers of rock, and atoms that work as clocks. Read it to see how dating methods work; this lesson does not repeat it.同一個想法，放到長得多的時間尺度上：一層一層的岩石，還有可以當時鐘的原子。想知道定年的方法怎麼運作，讀這一課；這裡就不重講了。Go to the lesson · 前往這一課 →Earth and Weather · Lesson 14 · 地球與天氣・第十四課How Do Fossils Form?化石是怎麼形成的？Fossils are evidence of living things from long before there were people. Archaeology studies what people left; fossils belong to a different science, but the layers are read the same way.化石是「還沒有人類以前」的生物留下的證據。考古學研究的是人留下的東西；化石屬於另一門科學，但讀地層的方法是一樣的。Go to the lesson · 前往這一課 →Taiwan’s Story · Lesson 2 · 台灣歷史・第二課Who Lived in Taiwan Thousands of Years Ago?幾千年前，誰住在台灣？From a made-up pit to real ones: several of Taiwan’s important prehistoric sites, and what was found there.從編出來的探坑走到真的探坑：台灣幾個重要的史前遺址，以及那裡出土了什麼。Go to the lesson · 前往這一課 →
Sources · 資料出處
Facts, dates, and quotations on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Quotations keep the spelling of the original. The test pit is an illustration and is not based on any single site · 本頁的事實、年代與引文於 2026 年 10 月依下列資料查證；引文保留原文的拼法。探坑是示意圖，不是依據任何單一遺址繪製
- “Primary sources” are “the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study”; secondary sources are “accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.”一手史料是歷史的原料：在所研究的那個時代留下來的文件與物品；二手史料是沒有親身經歷的人所做的敘述或詮釋Library of Congress, Teaching with the Library blog (2011) ↗
- Artifact: “Objects humans made or modified.” Disturbance: an event “that dislodges and disrupts archeological deposits.” Relative dating; absolute dating; radiocarbon dating works on “a once-living organism.”遺物（artifact）：人做的或改造過的物品；擾動：使考古堆積移位、打亂的事件；相對定年、絕對定年；碳十四定年用在曾經活過的生物上U.S. National Park Service, Archeology Program glossary ↗
- “Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving, and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.”口述歷史是一門學問，也是一種方法：蒐集、保存並詮釋人們、社群與親歷者的聲音與記憶Oral History Association, “Oral History: Defined” ↗
- “Archaeology is the study of the ancient and recent human past through material remains.” “Prehistoric archaeological sites are those without a written record.”考古學是透過物質遺留來研究古代與近代人類的過去；史前的考古遺址是沒有文字記錄的遺址Society for American Archaeology, “What Is Archaeology?” ↗
- The law of superposition: “in any undisturbed deposit the oldest layers are normally located at the lowest level.”疊置定律：沒有被擾動的堆積裡，最古老的地層通常在最下面Encyclopaedia Britannica, “stratigraphy” ↗
- “Typically, the strata get older as archeologists dig into the earth, because layers accumulate one on top of another.”考古學家越往下挖，地層通常越古老，因為地層是一層疊一層堆起來的U.S. National Park Service, “Stratigraphy and Superposition in Archeology” ↗
- Radiocarbon: a half-life of 5730 years; “the age range within which this method is useful is between 50 and 50,000 years old.”碳十四的半衰期是 5730 年；這個方法適用的年代範圍大約在 50 年到 5 萬年之間Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “Dating” ↗
- A radiocarbon result is calibrated and reported as an age range, for example a range “we could be 95% sure” the sample comes from.碳十四的測定結果要經過校正，並以年代範圍表示，例如「有 95% 的把握樣本來自這個範圍」Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, “Radiocarbon Calibration” ↗
- Prehistory is the age without written records; Chen Di’s Dongfan ji (1603) left the earliest record of customs in Taiwan「史前時期是指沒有文字紀錄的年代，史前人們用口語流傳的方式，把過去發生的事一代傳一代地說給後代子孫聽。當文字記錄開始出現，就是所謂的歷史時期。」「1603年，明朝的陳第……在《東番記》……裡面留下最早關於臺灣風俗的紀錄。讓臺灣走進了漢人的歷史時期。」國立臺灣史前文化博物館〈從史前走進歷史〉語音導覽 ↗
- The Changbin Culture, about 30,000 to 5,000 years ago; stone tools made only by chipping, no pottery; fire pits found「長濱文化是臺灣舊石器時代的代表，時間大約在30,000年到5,000年前之間，是臺灣最古老的史前文化。」石器完全以打製的方式製作，還沒有燒製陶器的技術；有發現人類使用的「火塘」遺跡國立臺灣史前文化博物館〈臺灣的史前時代：舊石器時代〉 ↗
- The Dapenkeng Culture, Taiwan’s earliest Neolithic culture, about 5,500 to 4,200 years ago; cord-marked pottery and polished stone tools (the same page also says the first Neolithic people arrived about 6,000 to 5,000 years ago)「『大坌坑文化』是臺灣最早的新石器時代文化，時間大約在距今5,500到4,200年前之間，又稱為『粗繩紋陶文化』。」帶著磨製石器及製作陶器的技術（同一頁另寫「約距今6,000至5,000年前」新石器時代文化傳入）國立臺灣史前文化博物館〈臺灣的史前時代：新石器時代〉 ↗
- Ironworking reaches Taiwan about 2,500 years ago; glass beads among the ornaments of the period「約距今2,500年前，製作鐵器的技術傳入臺灣」；出現銅飾、金飾及玻璃珠或瑪瑙珠等裝飾品國立臺灣史前文化博物館〈臺灣的史前時代：鐵器時代〉 ↗
- Baxian Caves (Changbin Township, Taitung County), a National Archaeological Site: cultural layers of about 30,000–15,000 years (Paleolithic) and 6,000–4,800 years (pre-ceramic); a small exhibition room at the visitor center八仙洞考古遺址（臺東縣長濱鄉，國定考古遺址）：「代表文化層 距今約30000-15000年（舊石器時代）、6000-4800年（先陶時代）……」；「長濱文化是至今在台灣所發現最古老的史前文化，以打製石器為主要工具，尚無製陶技術出現。」遊客服務中心內有小展覽室文化部文化資產局 國家考古遺址出土遺物典藏系統 ↗
- Baxian Caves: 1968–69 samples gave about 15,000 and about 5,000 years; in 2009 a survey found fire pits and radiocarbon dating showed more than 20,000 years民國 57 至 58 年的樣本測得 1 萬 5000 年與 5000 年前後，「八仙洞遺址一直被界定在5000年至1萬5000年間」；2009 年在洞內找到舊石器時代火塘，「經美國哈佛大學碳14年代測定，證明八仙洞遺址距今超過2萬年」中央社 2009 年報導，國立臺灣史前文化博物館考古網轉載 ↗
- The earliest inhabitants left no written materials; archaeology and oral tradition are the two most important paths. Curriculum items 歷 A-Ⅳ-1, 歷 Ba-Ⅳ-1, 歷 Ba-Ⅳ-2, 歷 1c-Ⅳ-1, Cb-Ⅲ-2, 3b-Ⅲ-1; the curriculum’s wider use of “Indigenous peoples”「臺灣最早的主人們沒有留下文字資料，要追索他們在臺灣的足跡，考古資料和口頭傳說是最重要的兩個途徑。」「原住民族」「包含法定原住民族、平埔族群及其他原住民族群」；歷 A-Ⅳ-1、歷 Ba-Ⅳ-1、歷 Ba-Ⅳ-2、歷 1c-Ⅳ-1、Cb-Ⅲ-2、3b-Ⅲ-1十二年國民基本教育課程綱要 社會領域（教育部，2018） ↗
- Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples have long been described as passing on knowledge orally (the article goes on to discuss later forms of writing)「臺灣原住民族一向被認為是以口傳方式溝通交流、傳承知識，是無文字傳統的族群。」（文章接著討論後來出現的書寫形式）李慧慧，《原住民族文獻》（原住民族委員會，2020） ↗
- Introductions to the officially recognized Indigenous peoples原住民族各族簡介原住民族委員會 ↗
- “There is a point of view present in every textbook, news program, or advertisement.”每一本課本、每一則新聞、每一個廣告裡，都有一個觀點Library of Congress, Teaching with the Library blog, “Thinking About Perspective” (2011) ↗
- “historians source, contextualize, and corroborate whenever they read historical documents.”歷史學家讀史料時，都會看來源、放回時空背景，並找別的資料互相印證Digital Inquiry Group, “Getting Started with Reading Like a Historian Lessons” ↗
- Names and locations of the museums: National Museum of Prehistory (Taitung City; Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch, Xinshi District, Tainan)國立臺灣史前文化博物館（康樂本館：臺東縣臺東市；南科考古館：臺南市新市區）National Museum of Prehistory · 國立臺灣史前文化博物館 ↗
- National Museum of Taiwan History (Annan District, Tainan City)國立臺灣歷史博物館（臺南市安南區）National Museum of Taiwan History · 國立臺灣歷史博物館 ↗
- The Penghu 1 jaw: a male Denisovan, “estimated to be between 10,000-70,000 or 130,000-190,000 years old” (study published in Science, 2025)澎湖 1 號下顎骨：男性丹尼索瓦人，年代估計在 1 萬到 7 萬年，或 13 萬到 19 萬年之間（2025 年發表於《Science》）University of Copenhagen, Section for Archaeology (2025) ↗
- National Taiwan Museum (Zhongzheng District, Taipei City)國立臺灣博物館（臺北市中正區）National Taiwan Museum · 國立臺灣博物館 ↗
- Chinese terms: 疊積定律／疊置定律 (law of superposition), 放射性碳定年法／碳十四定年法 (radiocarbon dating), 口述歷史, 一手資料／二手資料中文名詞：疊積定律／疊置定律、放射性碳定年法／碳十四定年法、口述歷史、一手資料／二手資料國家教育研究院 樂詞網 ↗