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Kintampo complex describes a period in prehistory that saw the transition to sedentism in West Africa, specifically Ghana and parts of eastern Côte d'Ivoire that began sometime between 2500-1400 BCE. When referring to topics related to Kintampo, the term ''complex'' is preferred as opposed to ''culture''. In an archaeological research context, culture implies that every site represented in the area used the same technologies and techniques to create the same types of tools, goods, and foods, had the same beliefs and customs, and so on. In reality, the inhabitants of the region during this particular period of time did have much in common, but did differ enough from village to village that ''culture'' is not entirely accurate. ''Complex'', or sometimes ''tradition'' on the other hand, is a term that can be applied more widely (and perhaps more vaguely) to mean a group that shares many characteristics, but also acknowledges differences. The name Kintampo which is used to describe the complex comes from the Kintampo district in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. Besides being a classic example of early forest dwellers in west Africa, Kintampo is significant because there is evidence of a drastic change in food production techniques due to the transition from nomadic hunter-gather lifestyles to life in stationary settlements. This change is known as sedentism and is typical of societies who have access to, or are developing systems of agriculture. Ceramic sculptures of humans and animals indicate that the Kintampo settlements were lived at by practitioners of both pastoralism and horticulture. Another notable aspect of the Kintampo complex is the creation of art and items of personal adornment. Archaeologists have found polished stone beads, bracelets and figurines in addition to typical stone tools and structures such as hand axes, and building foundations which suggests that these people had both a complex society and were well-learned in Later Stone Age technologies.〔Anquandah, James (1995) The Kintampo Complex: a case study of early sedentism and food production in sub-Sahelian west Africa, pp. 255–259 in Shaw, Thurstan, Andah, Bassey W and Sinclair, Paul (1995). The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11585-X〕 ==Settlement of West Africa== During the Middle Stone Age, technological advancements allowed humans originating in East Africa to adapt to new and diverse areas and allowed them to spread out and settle most of the African continent. Another motivator for the East African exodus was the expanding population that was growing exponentially. It was also during this era that humans are thought to have first traveled out of Africa; to Southwest Asia (also known as the Middle East), Asia and to Southeast Europe by traveling across the Sinai Peninsula and land bridges across the Red Sea, and to Western Europe by crossing at Gibraltar. Indeed, by the 10th millennium BC, there was substantial occupation of the upper part of Africa including large populations in what was then a region of lush forest: the Sahara. After the end of the last ice age, the geography and climate of the Sahara region began to change drastically. The northern part dried out due to the Earth tilting on its axis allowing the region to absorb more solar radiation, thus a desert was formed.〔(Sahara's Abrupt Desertification Started by Changes in Earth's Orbit )〕 The area directly to the south became a humid monsoon region, receiving massive amounts of precipitation due to moisture drawn in from the oceans. By the late 5th millennium BC, the planet had tilted even more on its axis and consequently the desert had spread southward, making previously settled areas unlivable.〔Christopher Ehret (2002)The Civilizations of Africa. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 081392085X.〕 People began traveling further south, away from the Sahara, some settling in the fringes of the desert, an area known today as the Sahel, a unique type of landscape that forms a buffer zone between desert and savannahs and forests (by this point in time, the Sahara had expanded to approximately the same extent as is today). Other kept traveling south, finding themselves in the humid rainforests of West Africa.〔 These are thought to be the people who founded the Kintampo way of life. There is another theory that states that instead of a mass migration from the Sahel of people who formed the Kintampo complex, it was formed by local Punpun foragers through interaction with peoples to the north. As the Punpun, who had long lived in the area, adopted the new traits, they ceased to be hunter gatherers, and adapted sedentism and horticulture. There is much speculation by Africanists as to whether or not the Kintampo tradition evolved from Punpun, but it appears that the two existed simultaneously for some time. : ''See also: Neolithic Subpluvial'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kintampo Complex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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