ABSTRACT
The prosperity of the Chubu Highlands and the Kanto district during the Middle Jomon came abruptly to an end at the end of this phase and only continued to a certain extent in eastern Kanto. As the state of deterioration spread into this latter region during the Late Jomon, new centres of prosperity gradually emerged in two areas, northern Tohoku and central Kyushu, dividing Japan into two large cultural areas characterized by distinctive pottery types as well as different subsistence activities. In northeastern Japan, hunting, fishing and intensive processing of horse chestnuts are prominent. In southwestern Japan, however, the possibility of agriculture before the Yayoi period once again presents the largest question.
