HIERARCHY EMERGED

Surface structures and half crypt buildings, defensive walls and trenches, and jade artifacts were found in a prehistoric settlement from about 5,000 to 4,600 years ago in today's Shandong province, eastern China.

Archeologists found pottery and jade vessels in the tombs ruins, which were used in sacrifice ceremonies and banquets by the ruling class to distinguish themselves from the common people, according to the archeologists.

The Neolithic relics showed the accelerating polarization of the rich and the poor, and the yawning gap among people of different social status.