About - LIU Jiun-Yu

Liu Jiun-Yu 劉俊昱 is a Project Researcher at the National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku), Osaka. He received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2022. His doctoral research focuses on cultural interactions, migration, trade, and technology, with an emphasis on the transmission and localization of iron metallurgy in prehistoric Taiwan. Applying a trade diaspora model, he has conducted mineral and chemical analyses of ceramics and iron slags to investigate technological adaptation and long-distance exchange networks in East and Southeast Asia. Dr. Liu Jiun-Yu has extensive archaeological fieldwork experience in Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar, spanning both academic and cultural resource management (CRM) projects. He has also worked on interdisciplinary studies of Taiwan’s indigenous material culture, ancient DNA, and ancient diets. His current projects include helping to model early human migration using archaeological and ethnographic data, applying starch analysis to study ancient subsistence practices, and investigating the historical use of leisure goods such as tobacco in Taiwanese indigenous societies.

Beyond academic research, he is actively involved in community collaborations and museum work, integrating indigenous perspectives and local knowledge into archaeological interpretation. His work emphasizes ethical research practices, -indigenous cultural revitalization, and public outreach, as seen in his co-curation of the exhibition “Kuroshio Odyssey: Maritime Memories, Culture, and Landscapes” at the Burke Museum in Seattle.