Indigenous groups in Taiwan (yuan jhu min) refers to those ethnic groups inhabiting Taiwan and its neighboring islands before mass immigration of people from China's coastal areas from the 17th century onward. During the period of Japanese rule, Taiwan's indigenous peoples were designated as either "mountain savages" or "plains savages."
As of November 2005, the 12 Taiwan indigenous groups recognized by the government have a combined population of approximately 464,000, representing about 2 percent of Taiwan's total population. According to linguistic analysis, Taiwan's indigenous peoples belong to the Asutronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) group, which inhabits an area of oceans and islands that extends from Easter Island in the east to Madagascar in the West, and from New Zealand in the south to Taiwan in the north. Anthropological research has shown that cultural customs of Taiwan's indigenous groups, such as stilt houses (buildings raised above the ground to protect against damp, insects, and snakes), slash-and-burn cultivation, bamboo and rattan weaving, manufacture of clothing from animal hides, tattooing, chewing of betel nut, and circle-dancing, all belong to traditional Austronesian culture. Due to the number and diversity of indigenous languages in Taiwan, some scholars have suggested recently that Taiwan may be the original homeland from which the Austronesian peoples began their diaspora several thousand years ago.
The location of various different indigenous groups on map of Taiwan 
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