牡蠣（oyster），是全球性飲食文化中的一項重要食材。在臺灣和福建的閩南語稱作蚵仔；臺灣的傳統小吃美食中，以牡蠣作為食材的蚵仔煎和蚵仔麵線，更是獨佔鰲頭，引領風騷。根據古生物化石遺留的證據顯示，早在四億年前，貝類軟體動物便就開始出現於地球上；而牡蠣據稱是一億三千五百萬年前的生物。直到目前為止，全世界記錄共有十八屬一百多種；在臺灣四周的水域環境裡，則發現有五屬十四種，尤其甚者，臺灣西南海岸一直是牡蠣王國的牧場。根據目前現有的考古資料顯示，距今5,000年前的新石器時代早期，臺南科學園區的南關里和南關里東兩處遺址的文化層堆積中，即發現有數量極其龐大的牡蠣貝殼遺留，反映出當時聚落已利用牡蠣作為日常生活食物的重要訊息。藉由生物種屬鑑定的結果得知，臺南地區當時的牡蠣種群至少分辨出十二種；其中，近江牡蠣、大連灣牡蠣、中華牡蠣與龜甲牡蠣等四種完全不見於臺灣現生物種的記錄。透過碳氧同位素的分析發現，史前聚落多半安排在冬天到春天的季節裡進行採集牡蠣的活動。同時，觀察到部分牡蠣殼體呈現燒烤的現象，故以此推測南關里的史前先民也以燒烤的方式食用。值得注意的是，即便5,000年來臺灣西南海岸環境持續不斷地改變，整體水體環境卻依然是適合牡蠣生長棲息的處所。

Oysters are a significant daily food resource worldwide. In the Southern Fukien dialect of Taiwan and Fukien they are called 蚵仔 (pronounced ô-á), and are used to make oyster pancakes and oyster noodle soup, two of most popular dishes in traditional Taiwanese cuisine. Based on fossil evidence, it was about 400 million or more years ago that shellfish began to appear on the earth, and 135 million years ago when the first oysters appeared. Up to now, more than 18 families and 100 species have been recorded around the world. 5 families and 14 species are found around the Taiwan coast, especially on the southwestern side. Archaeologists have found abundant oyster shell middens on the Nankuanli site and the Nankuanli East site. Apparently, oysters formed a very important part of the diet. There are at least 12 species which can be distinguished from those archaeological remains. Among them, four species, including the Chinese river oyster (Crassostrea rivularis), Dalian bay oyster (Crassostrea talienwhanensis), Ostrea sinensis, and Neoprocnodonte musashiam have never shown up in modern survey records. Judging by carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses, most oysters were gathered in winter and spring. In addition to raw oysters, roasted oysters were also consumed by the prehistoric Nankuanli people. Coastal environments of southwestern Taiwan have been continuously changing in the last 5,000 years. Nevertheless, oysters are still grown successfully in this water environment.