Western Pueblo settlements

This topic has expert replies
Legendary Member
Posts: 631
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:57 pm
Thanked: 29 times
Followed by:3 members

Western Pueblo settlements

by netigen » Fri Jun 06, 2008 11:53 pm
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
many Western Pueblo settlements
in what is now the southwestern United
Line States may have possessed distinctly
(5) hierarchical organizational structures.
These communities’ agricultural
systems—which were “intensive” in
the use of labor rather than “extensive”
in area—may have given rise to polit-
(10) ical leadership that managed both
labor and food resources. That formal
management of food resources
was needed is suggested by the
large size of storage spaces located
(15) around some communal Great Kivas
(underground ceremonial chambers).
Though no direct evidence exists that
such spaces were used to store food,
Western Pueblo communities lacking
(20) sufficient arable land to support their
populations could have preserved
the necessary extra food, including
imported foodstuffs, in such apparently
communal spaces.
(25) Moreover, evidence of specialization
in producing raw materials and
in manufacturing ceramics and textiles
indicates differentiation of labor within
and between communities. The orga-
(30) nizational and managerial demands
of such specialization strengthen
the possibility that a decision-making
elite existed, an elite whose control
over labor, the use of community sur-
(35) pluses, and the acquisition of imported
goods would have led to a concentration
of economic resources in their
own hands. Evidence for differential
distribution of wealth is found in buri-
(40) als of the period: some include large
quantities of pottery, jewelry, and other
artifacts, whereas others from the
same sites lack any such materials.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q1:
Which of the following, if true, would most clearly undermine the author’s statement in the last sentence of the passage (lines 38-43) regarding the distribution of wealth in Western Pueblo settlements?
A. Only community members of exceptional wealth are likely to have been buried with their personal possessions.
B. Members of communities with extensive agricultural systems are usually buried without personal possessions.
C. Most artifacts found in burial sites were manufactured locally rather than imported from other communities.
D. Burial artifacts are often ritual objects associated with religious practices rather than being the deceased’s personal possessions.
E. The quality of burial artifacts varies depending on the site with which they are associated.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q2:
According to the passage, which of the following is probably true of the storage spaces mentioned in line 14?
A. They were used by the community elite for storage of their own food supplies.
B. They served a ceremonial as well as a practical function.
C. Their size is an indication of the wealth of the particular community to which they belonged.
D. Their existence proves that the community to which they belonged imported large amounts of food.
E. They belonged to and were used by the community as a whole.
Source: — Reading Comprehension |

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 438
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:44 am
Thanked: 26 times

by chidcguy » Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:49 pm
C & E??

Is this from the 3000RC? Do you have the answer key?

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:00 am

by ipreeti » Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:13 am
I think it would be D and E

D for the first one because the very logic for assuming that the person buried is rich is the value of belongings / or the very fact that belongings are buried with him.An explanation which refutes this logic is D and hence D should be the right option.

Please correct me if I am wrong

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 438
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:44 am
Thanked: 26 times

by chidcguy » Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:51 pm
I see what you are saying. It does not matter what kind of wealth is found imported or local but that does not refute the distribution of of wealth.

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 8:51 am
Location: Chennai

by arunmmw » Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:09 am
IMO "D" & "E"
Regards
Arun

Legendary Member
Posts: 1799
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 am
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:2 members

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:30 am
Can someone please explain what is wrong in option B of Question#1 above ?

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:31 pm

by charley » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:27 am
goelmohit2002 wrote:Can someone please explain what is wrong in option B of Question#1 above ?
Let's suppose that B is right choice. Then a person buried without personal possessions might have had extensive agricultural systems. However, can this fact prove that he is rich?
In the passage, there is no sign that a member with extensive agricultural systems is rich.
Correct me if I'm wrong in that.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1799
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 am
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:2 members

by goelmohit2002 » Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:23 am
Doesn't extensive agricultual system mean a person is rich...

Atleast in my opinion this is the present day scenario :-)....

Can't we think that a person having a huge land must be rich.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1169
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:34 am
Thanked: 25 times
Followed by:1 members

by aj5105 » Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:10 pm
I took 8 minutes minutes to do this.

My answers D, E.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1799
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 am
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:2 members

by goelmohit2002 » Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:44 pm
aj5105 wrote:I took 8 minutes minutes to do this.

My answers D, E.
Thanks but why not B for Q#1....please see the detailed doubt in the thread discussion above.

Legendary Member
Posts: 876
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:14 am
Thanked: 13 times

by ketkoag » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:37 am
6 mins D and E
B in 1st is wrong coz it strengthens the idea that distribution of wealth in Western Pueblo settlement was uneven.. but we wanna weaken it.. D clearly states that those artifacts are not part of personal wealth but religious stuff.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1799
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 am
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:2 members

by goelmohit2002 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:45 am
ketkoag wrote:6 mins D and E
B in 1st is wrong coz it strengthens the idea that distribution of wealth in Western Pueblo settlement was uneven.. but we wanna weaken it..
Hi Ketkoag,

IMO either B in #1 weakens or is out of scope...Please tell me what I am missing here.

Outof scope = because it talks about extensive system....but the scope is intensive stuff(as per line#7)....

or
Weaken = because it tells that rich people are buried without any stuff....

Kindly tell for strengthening that you are saying are u saying that rich people are buried without any stuff.....and poor people due to their some so called religious stuff....put costly stuff inside graves....But this looks to be at odds to what 2nd para of the passage want to communicate...that rich people have money to spend money here and there.