Who are the people of the Ryukyu Islands? How could they survive and prosper on small, isolated islands? How did the independent Ryukyu Kingdom become a major player in East Asian medieval trade? Ancient Ryukyu explores 30,000 years of human occupation in the Ryukyu Islands, from the earliest human presence in the region up to A.D. 1609 and the emergence of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Richard Pearson is professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia. His recent publications include Ancient Ryukyu: An Archaeological Study of Island Communities (2013), Osaka Archaeology (2016), and The Archaeology of Medieval Towns: Case Studies from Japan and Europe (coauthor, 2020).