[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Topographic accessibility and proto-urban settlement organization in Neolithic China

## Details

**Authors** Cheng et al.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Nature Cities

**Discipline** Archaeology

**Secondary disciplines** Geography

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-026-00511-2) 
10.1038/s44284-026-00511-2

## In authors' words

### What they found (results)

Across Neolithic China (5000-2000 BCE), settlement intensity tracked terrain-derived overland accessibility closely between 5000-2500 BCE, but this accessibility-settlement association weakened sharply after 2500 BCE even as overall spatial clustering of settlements remained strong.

## Commentary

### In short

The relationship between a driving factor (terrain accessibility) and the organization of a system (settlement distribution) is shown to be historically contingent — strengthening, weakening, and reorganizing over time rather than fixed.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

**Added** 2026-09-10

**How to cite this** Cheng et al. (2026). Topographic accessibility and proto-urban settlement organization in Neolithic China. Nature Cities.