An archaeological reconsideration of Bantu expansion

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Periodical article

Title:	An archaeological reconsideration of Bantu expansion
Author:	Phillipson, D.W.
Year:	1985
Periodical:	Muntu: revue scientifique et culturelle du CICIBA
Issue:	2
Pages:	69-84
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:	Bantu-speaking peoples migration archaeology
Abstract:	An outline survey is presented of archaeological evidence for major developments during the past 5,000 years in the parts of Africa which have been inhabited in recent times by people speaking Bantu languages. When these archaeological conclusions are compared with current linguistic reconstructions of the processes of Bantu expansion, several points of strong similarity are immediately apparent. It is thus possible tentatively to identify the archaeological remains of early Bantu-speaking societies, and to propose an absolute chronology for the main phases of Bantu expansion. It is suggested that the development and dispersal of varied forms of food production were an even greater Bantu contribution to subequatorial Africa than were techniques of iron working. Bibliogr., sum. also in French, Spanish and Portuguese.