CARS PRACTICE TEST 2023 UPDATE WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS;(TEST BANK)
The author assumes that the diffusion of squash throughout the Woodlands region:
A.
occurred alongside the diffusion of pottery.
B.
is evidence of its hardiness.
C.
was not due to Mexican influence.
D.
explains why maize was not discovered at Poverty Point. - ANSWER The solution is C.
A) The author writes that "One could construct a neat diffusionary model.... Mexican emigrants brought their staple crops [including squash], pottery making, and mound building into the Woodlands" (paragraph 3). However, the author does not endorse this model. In the final paragraph of the passage, the author notes explicitly that the pottery found at Poverty Point (in the southern Woodlands region) "did not derive from Mexico," while acknowledging that "squash might have been grown there." The author, then, does not suggest that the diffusion of squash accompanied the diffusion of pottery.
B) There is no discussion in the passage of the "hardiness" of particular crops, or of hardiness explaining the presence of particular crops in the Woodlands region.
C) The author writes that "While squash might have been grown [in Louisiana's Poverty Point region], its presence at Poverty Point does not indicates a close relationship to Mexico because squash had diffused throughout the southeastern Woodlands region as early as 2000 BC" (final paragraph).
D) The author does not suggest that the "conspicuous absence" of maize at Poverty Point was due to the possible concurrent presence of squash there.
Which of the following of the archaeologists' assumptions described in paragraph 3 is NOT supported by evidence or reasoning in the passage?
A.
The mound builders had a large labor force.
B.
The mound builders had ample leisure time.
C. The mound builders grew maize, beans, and squash.
D.
The mound builders included specialized craftspeople. - ANSWER The solution is C.
A) The author provides some support for this claim: "The great size of some of the mounds implied the existence of a large labor force..." (paragraph 3).
B) The author supports this claim with some reasoning: "The great size of some of the mounds implied the existence of a large labor force with enough
leisure time to devote to construction projects" (paragraph 3).
C) The author provides reasoning for the assumption that the mound builders
were farmers but does not provide reasoning or support for the assumption that they were "farmers who grew maize, beans, and squash" (paragraph 3).
D) The author offers some reasoning to support this claim: "The work of specialist craftspeople, freed from subsistence tasks, seemed to be manifest in the fine quality of artifacts found in the mounds" (paragraph 3).
Which of the following aspects of the mounds described in the passage best explains archaeologists' reluctance to postulate a strictly Native American origin?
A.
Their apparently sudden appearance
B.
Their relatively early appearance
C.
Their size
D.
Their purpose - ANSWER The solution is A.
A) "Archaeologists remained reluctant...to postulate a strictly Native American origin for mound building. Instead, diffusion of the practice from some area where it was already well established seemed to be the best way to explain its apparently sudden and relatively late appearance in the eastern Woodlands of the U.S." (paragraph 2).
B) To the contrary, the author suggests that it was the "relatively late appearance" of mound building (not its early appearance) that contributed to
the diffusionist hypothesis.
C) The size of the mounds led to speculation about the size and nature of the
labor force involved in their construction, but the author does not mention the size of the mounds as an aspect of the reluctance of archaeologists to see the mounds as of strictly Native American origin. D) The purpose of the mounds is not discussed; the author calls them "enigmatic" mounds. In any case, their purpose is not given as a reason that archaeologists were reluctant to posit a strictly Native American origin for the mounds.
If cord-marked Woodland pottery were found in areas between the Bering Strait and the eastern Woodlands, this would support the notion that mound building diffused from:
A.
Europe.
B.
Asia.
C.
Scandinavia.
D.
Mexico. - ANSWER The solution is B.
A) The presence of cord-marked pottery in areas between the Bering Strait and the Eastern Woodlands is interpreted by the author as a potential sign of
mound building having diffused from Asia, not from Europe.
B) The author writes that, "A few archaeologists suggested that mound building had diffused, along with cord-marked pottery found in the Woodlands, across the Bering Strait from Asia, but they had to admit that the
absence of both traits in the intervening regions was problematic" (paragraph 2). If, however, cord-marked Woodland pottery were found precisely in the intervening regions (between the Bering Strait and the Eastern Woodlands), this would presumably remedy that "problematic" lack of evidence and offer support for the theory that the mound-building had also diffused from Asia.
C) The author mentions "another theory" that the mounds might have "been brought across the Atlantic from Scandinavia" (paragraph 2), but the presence of the pottery in the areas referred to in the question stem is not discussed in relation to that claim.
D) The presence of the pottery between the Bering Strait and the Eastern Woodlands is discussed as evidence that the mound-building might have diffused from Asia, not from the southern route of Mexico.
Which of the following findings would most weaken the Mexican hypothesis as presented in the passage?
A.
An abundance of leisure time is not correlated with an abundance of fine-
quality artifacts. B.
Pottery from ancient Mexico is stylistically similar to Native American pottery
found in the Woodlands.
C.
There is evidence that emigration took place about 1200 BC from the area that is now Mexico to western areas of the U.S.
D.
Leisure time tends to decrease when a people switches to farming from hunting and gathering. - ANSWER The solution is D.
A) The absence of this correlation would merely challenge the assumption that the presence of such artifacts implies leisure time (the passage indicates that specialized craftspeople were "freed from subsistence tasks" (paragraph 3). That the presence of large mounds implies leisure time, and therefore agriculture—a crucial building block in the "Mexican hypothesis"—
would still stand.
B) Stylistic similarities between Mexican pottery and Native American pottery
does not affect the Mexican hypothesis in one way or another. While such similarities might be interpreted as support for a Mexican influence on Native
American culture (and thus could support the Mexican hypothesis), it is also possible that Native American pottery styles could have influenced Mexican styles.
C) There is no discussion in the passage of mound-building in the western areas of the U.S., so such evidence is irrelevant. One might speculate that people who emigrated to western areas of the U.S. might then have moved to the eastern areas, but that would support—rather than weaken—the Mexican hypothesis.
D) The Mexican hypothesis rests on a series of assumptions about the conditions that would have enabled the construction of the large mounds found in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. The author writes that "The great size of some mounds implied the existence of a large labor force with enough leisure time to devote to construction projects. The work of specialist
craftspeople, freed from subsistence tasks, seemed to be manifest in the fine
quality of the artifacts found in the mounds. Leisure time and craft specialization were inconceivable except as by-products of agriculture, and so archaeologists assumed that the mound builders were farmers who grew maize, beans, and squash. These staple crops were, of course, of Mexican origin" (paragraph 3). If, however, leisure time decreases with the advent of agriculture, then it would no longer follow that Mexican farmers were likely to have had the time to devote to the building of the mounds, which would of
course weaken the hypothesis.
The author describes the research of Cyrus Thomas most likely because it:
