PrepTest 135, Section 4, Question 7
The ruins of the prehistoric Bolivian city of(67 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(16 more words not shown)
- Awhether the traditional(14 more words not shown)
- Bwhether green andacite(15 more words not shown)
- Cwhether reed boats(7 more words not shown)
- Dwhether the green(11 more words not shown)
- Ewhether the reed(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A 9-ton stone isn't a 40-ton stone.
The experiment does show that a reed boat made with local materials and traditional techniques can move a very heavy stone along the relevant route. That's useful evidence. But some of Tiwanaku's stones weighed up to 40 tons, so I'd still want to know whether the method could handle those much larger loads.
What we’re looking for
We're evaluating support for a historical hypothesis: people brought the stones across the lake on reed boats. A successful modern trip helps only to the extent that it represents what those people could have done. My first question is about the weight difference. I'll also watch for another difference that could make the demonstration a poor guide to the past.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Were these 'traditional' techniques available when Tiwanaku was inhabited? That's a different gap from the weight issue, but it's a serious one. A technique could be traditional today and still have developed long after the stones were transported.
If the techniques were already in use, the experiment would be a more credible demonstration of what the builders could have done. If they weren't, the successful trip would provide much less support for this account of the earlier transport. We don't have to prove what actually happened to see why that historical timing matters.
- B
The stones could have been used at nearby sites as well as Tiwanaku, or only at Tiwanaku. Neither answer tells us how they crossed the lake. We need to evaluate that journey, not identify every other destination for stones from the quarry.
- C
Common use today doesn't establish use during the relevant prehistoric period. Reed boats could have become popular much later, or an ancient technique could have fallen out of use. A asks about the right time; C doesn't.
- D
The hypothesis concerns how these green andacite stones reached Tiwanaku. A different kind of stone at the site could be larger yet come from somewhere nearby. Ranking all the site's stones by size doesn't tell us whether reed boats carried the stones in question across the lake.
- E
The boat needs to last long enough for the transport, not necessarily for several years. Builders could make replacement boats as needed. A short useful life would not by itself show that the boats couldn't have performed the required journeys.
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