Living in the mountains and isolated geographically, the nine (or ten) different aboriginal peoples have each preserved relatively primitive forms of ancient Southeast Asian culture. Due to the complexity and multiplicity of their cultures, arising from their differing places of origin and periods of migration, the aboriginal peoples occupy an important place in anthropological study.
尤其先住民長期居於山間，地理位置孤立，獨能保有較近原始形態的古東南亞文化。九族（或十族）先住民，由於其原居地和移入年代各有不同，各族文化間的多元性和複雜性，在人類學研究上具重要地位。