Exceptionaly rare knife from Formosa/Taiwan

[Nonoy Tan]

Scholars don’t know where these knives are coming from. They could have been imported as the Paiwan that used them and the other contemporary aborigines tribes didn’t know how to make iron and bronze till the 20th cent. The second hypothesis is that the bronze knives could have been made before, much earlier by the ancestors of the Paiwan but the knowledge was lost, or by another insular ethnic group that disappeared. The fact is that places were iron was made and bronze casted were found on the island, some of them dating back long long time ago. But what happened after is a mystery ?

Thanks for providing this information, Yuanzhumin. Very interesting. The answers pose more questions though

Have there been any archaeological excavations which show metal blades or knives dating pre-20th century?

Did the aboriginal peoples export raw jade or processed jade? Did they use metal or stone tools to extract and work on Jade?