It used to be thought that the domestication of rice might have taken place in mainland Southeast Asia. More accurate dating procedures now make this unlikely. Charles Higham argues that rice was probably first domesticated from wild strains in the Yangzi valley, which was, therefore, “one of the very few areas in Eurasia that witnessed a Neolithic Revolution, the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture” (Higham 2002, p 84). This probably occurred between 8,000 and 6,000 BCE, after which the innovation diffused slowly into southern China and west into Yunnan. From there, settled agriculture based on rice production filtered southeast down the Red River valley and south down the Mekong valley by at least 4,000 BCE. Rice became widespread throughout mainland Southeast Asia by 2,000 BCE.