A series of caves occupied in south China from 7500-6000 BC suggest that the area was inhabited by a mix of cultivators and hunter-gatherers, some of whom husbanded pigs, as at Zengpiyan.
By 3000-1000 BC a series of cultures developed in south China, based on shellfish, fish and rice, possibly with some root crop agriculture, although little evidence for the cultivation of root crops survives.
Some of these communities, especially those with access to rich coastal resources, developed a considerable degree of social complexity, as seen in the large cemeteries on the coast of Taiwan, one of which has over 1000 burials.
These cultures gave rise to the Yueh peoples mentioned in Han period chronicles.
