長期以來，生物人類學家對於人類族群遷移史有著相當程度的興趣。多年來針對這個問題，有許多對於現代太平洋區域人群的形態或遺傳上的研究正在進行著，但大洋洲族群的起源及其遷徙動線仍是一團解不開的謎。臺灣雖然屬於回答這個問題的重要關鍵之一，但可以提供直接證據之相關考古出土人骨研究卻相當有限。本文即針對這個問題，簡述臺灣近十五年來的生物人類學研究，如張菁芳（1993）與劉靜心（2005）於台北十三行遺址的人骨研究、鄭萱宜（2004）於台南烏山頭遺址的古代DNA研究。再者，介紹全球於1984年起開始運用的新興方法：古代DNA的研究，最後，陳述近幾年來於出土遺址密集的臺南科學工業園區內的南關里、南關里東、右先方、五間厝南及三抱竹等遺址的人骨初步研究結果。

Anthropologists have long been interested in the question of human migrations on different continents. For instance, there has been long-standing controversy concerning the origins of Oceanians; in other words, the ancestral homeland of Austronesian-speaking population remains unknown. In this regard, there have been many genetic and morphological studies of modern populations in the Pacific region. In order to answer questions concerning the origins of the Austronesian speakers, researchers have begun to apply new methods and techniques, such as chemical analyses and ancient DNA analyses; however, these newly developed disciplines are limited in Taiwan.This article presents few studies in past 20 years regarding the direct evidence of human skeletons from archaeological sites in Taiwan. For example, a general morphological study of human burials excavated at the Shih-San-Hang site by Ching-Fang Chang (1993). Later on, Ching-Hsin Lui (2005) analyzed the same series of skeletons to evaluate childhood stress at the Shih-San-Hang site. Additionally, an ancient DNA study at the U-Shan-To site was conducted by Chuan-Yi Chen (2004).Next, the morphological studies of the Nan-Kuan Li, Nan-Kuan Li East, You-Hsin Fong, Wu-Chien Tzu South, and San-Pau-Chu (SPC) sites of the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park in southwestern Taiwan were reported in this study. Finally, discussions current ancient DNA were reviewed. Furthermore, a preliminary study of ancient DNA on SPC skeleton was also briefly discussed.