Photo courtesy of Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) An exhibition showcasing replicas of artifacts from Taiwan's Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology opened in Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture on Friday, the first time that the Taiwan museum is exhibiting overseas.

The special exhibition at the Saitobaru Archaeological Museum of Miyazaki Prefecture showcases replicas of 105 sets of artifacts from the Taiwan museum, including a variety of iron and pottery pieces and gold and glass ornaments, according to Chen Chun-lan (陳春蘭), director of the Taiwan museum.

Jointly organized by archaeological scholars and experts from Taiwan and Japan, the exhibition aims to present a complete view of the brilliant iron culture in northern Taiwan, Chen said.

The use of iron was an important milestone in the development of human civilization and had a huge impact on crop cultivation, economic transactions and the material culture of human beings, she said.

Also among the exhibited items is the replica of the "Anthropomorphic Jar," one of the most distinctive artifacts of the museum.

The red-brown pottery jar, an artifact from the indigenous Shihsanhang people, who are believed to have existed around 500-1,800 years ago, may have religious significance and its body appears in the form of a human face.

The Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology is located near the Shihsanhang archaeological site in New Taipei's Bali District, where rich prehistoric artifacts have been unearthed.

(By Christie Chen)
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