Quotable

"The size and population of the settlement were pretty large, compared with others of the same era."

Gao Zanling, a member of the Zhengzhou Administration of Cultural Heritage, said of a Neolithic settlement, complete with moats and a cemetery, unearthed in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The 120,000-square-meter settlement next to a river dates back 5,000 to 6,000 years to the Yangshao culture (7000-5000 BC), widely known for its pottery-making technology.