Neolithic cultures in Southeast China, Taiwan, and Luzon

In southern China, the oldest evidence for rice agriculture is currently much later than that for pottery production. Although early rice cultivation can be traced before 6000 bce in the middle Yellow and middle‐lower Yangzi valleys, rice farming in southern China, especially in Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi,is not yet attested before 3000 bce (Zhang and Hung 2010; Yang et al. in press). Instead, archaeological evidence prior to this date in coastal southern China still indicates a continuing reliance on maritime resources (Zhang and Hung 2014), as represented by numerous shell midden and sand dune sites dated between 5000 and 3000 bce. These include Keqiutou in Fujian and Xiantouling in Guangdong (Figure 7.1), both with sand tempered pottery decorated with stamped and incised motifs