Taiwan has been inhabited for at least 25,000 years, and the indigenous Austronesian peoples are believed to represent one of the most important origins in human history. The Austronesian expansion, which eventually populated a region stretching from Madagascar in the west to Hawaii and Easter Island in the east, is thought by a significant body of academic research to have begun in Taiwan. When you encounter indigenous culture here, you are encountering something with roots that reach far deeper than most visitors expect.