Favorable environments do not necessarily lead to the occurrence of plant cultivation. South China is warmer and moister than North China and the Yangtze Basin, with wild rice and highly abundant natural resources. Yet archaeological data indicate that cereal cultivation did not occur in this region until approximately 7,000 to 6,500 years ago. This cultivation was likely a result of cultural contact with and expansion from the Yangtze Basin. Clearly, environmental factors were important for the occurrence of cultivation in China, but were not the absolute determining factors. While incipient cultivation might occur in areas of relatively abundant resources, it may not occur in areas of very abundant resources, such as South China, where foraging might be a more efficient way of life.