The Spatial Knowledge of Indigenous People in Mountainous Environments: A Case Study of Three Taiwanese Indigenous Tribes

Abstract

This article recounts information gleaned from a case study of three indigenous tribes in Taiwan regarding the origin and nature of their spatial knowledge. Sketched mental maps and 3D virtual environment () are used by indigenous elders and hunters to delineate their traditional territories. Spatial components representing the predominant spatial elements are identified. Spatial structures used for locational positioning are analyzed, as are spatial reference systems for orientation and movement. The results show that spatial components are used for daily activities, as well as having historical and cultural meaning; a quadrant structure is used for spatial positioning; and instead of using the directional reference system of east, south, west, and north, these indigenous people rely on the orientation analogies of uphill, downhill, upstream, and downstream for direction.

• indigenous peoples
• spatial knowledge
• Austronesian
• Taiwan
• mental maps

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bor‐wen Tsai

Dr. Tsai is an associate professor of geography at the National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; [[email protected]];

Yung‐ching Lo

Mr. Lo is a graduate student at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; [[email protected]].