Agricultural societies cannot exist without staple crops. Several food plants, such as kola and okra, are known to have been domesticated in western Africa, but they are all supplemental, not staple, foods. All the recorded staple crops grown in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere, beginning, at some unknown date, with rice and yams. Therefore, discovering when rice and yams were introduced into western Africa would establish the earliest date at which agricultural societies could have arisen there.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) People in western Africa did not develop staple crops that they stopped cultivating once rice and yams were introduced.
(B) There are no plants native to western Africa that, if domesticated, could serve as staple food crops.
(C) Rice and yams were grown as staple crops by the earliest agricultural societies outside of western Africa.
(D) Kola and okra are better suited to growing conditions in western Africa than domesticated rice and yams are.
(E) Kola and okra were domesticated in western Africa before rice and yams were introduced there.
OA A
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Agricultural societies cannot exist without staple crops.
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Here, we need to find which assumption supports the argument.
Premise: Staple food in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere.
OPTION A - INCORRECT
This doesn't mean that staple foods were not cultivated in West Africa.
OPTION B - INCORRECT
This is wrong because food plants like kola and okra which has been domesticated in West Africa do not serve as staple foods to them. They are supplementary foods.
OPTION C - CORRECT
One thing the argument supports and depends on is that yam and rice which are staple foods were introduced in Africa, this means that they were grown elsewhere.
OPTION D - INCORRECT
We are not concerned about the growing conditions of these crops.
OPTION E - INCORRECT
There is no true indication to prove in the argument that kola and okra were domesticated before rice and yam were introduced in West Africa. So, this cannot serve as an assumption to which the argument depends.
Premise: Staple food in western Africa were introduced from elsewhere.
OPTION A - INCORRECT
This doesn't mean that staple foods were not cultivated in West Africa.
OPTION B - INCORRECT
This is wrong because food plants like kola and okra which has been domesticated in West Africa do not serve as staple foods to them. They are supplementary foods.
OPTION C - CORRECT
One thing the argument supports and depends on is that yam and rice which are staple foods were introduced in Africa, this means that they were grown elsewhere.
OPTION D - INCORRECT
We are not concerned about the growing conditions of these crops.
OPTION E - INCORRECT
There is no true indication to prove in the argument that kola and okra were domesticated before rice and yam were introduced in West Africa. So, this cannot serve as an assumption to which the argument depends.
