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Description: The aim of this dissertation is to explore whether there is a relationship between Indigenous social complexity in northeastern Taiwan and the European presence in the 17th century. I hypothesize that the kind of social complexity we observed throughout northeastern Taiwan may have resulted from the indirect impacts of European colonization and associated frequent trade activities. To test my hypothesis, I explore social changes at a major Iron Age site, Kiwulan (1350-1850 AD), by examining multiple lines of archaeological evidence. I use a conceptual framework of corporate/network modes to model changes in social complexity. I studied archaeological materials, including trade ornaments, locally made ceramics, and burials, as proxies to investigate changes before and after the European arrival. The core of this dissertation is three research papers that focus on a specific element of the archaeological record of Kiwulan to measure and compare the extent of social inequality. I used novel methods applied for the first time to archaeological materials in this region, such as geometric morphometrics for ceramic shapes and Bayesian network modeling for understanding social changes via burial data. To better understand Indigenous reactions to foreign presence on a long-term scale, I also incorporate a later Chinese phase to provide a diachronic perspective to explore social change at Kiwulan from the 14th to 19th century.