PrepTest 142, Section 1, Question 2
Archaeologist: How did the Parthenon's stonemasons manage to(84 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(10 more words not shown)
- AModern attempts to(12 more words not shown)
- BThe construction of(14 more words not shown)
- CScale drawings were(10 more words not shown)
- DThe surviving columns(13 more words not shown)
- EThe Parthenon's stonemasons(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
How do you get every column to bulge in exactly the same way? A drawing could help: its grid tells the stonemason how wide the column should be at each height. That gives the worker a common shape to aim for.
But hand me that drawing and I still couldn't carve the column. Knowing the intended dimensions and being able to produce them are different things. I'd want to know whether a template like this really helped skilled workers achieve the matching shapes.
What we’re looking for
We're strengthening the suggestion that the Parthenon's stonemasons used such a drawing. Evidence that this method could produce the result would help. Keep the actual claim in view, though: we need support for a particular method, not merely evidence that the workers were talented or the columns impressive.
Working the answers
- A
Modern builders' partial success doesn't identify the method ancient builders used. Perhaps the modern attempts used drawings; perhaps they didn't. Without that connection, their difficulties give us no additional reason to think the Parthenon's workers used this particular technique.
- B
This places the Didyma construction later. That doesn't help show that a similar method was available when the Parthenon was built. It also doesn't prove the technique itself was invented later: an older method could have been used in a newer temple. Either way, B doesn't supply the support we need.
- CCorrect
This takes a different route from our question about executing the design. Scale drawings were a common construction tool in ancient Greece, so using one at the Parthenon becomes more plausible. We aren't relying only on a drawing found at a different temple; we now know the proposed technique belonged to a broader practice. That supports the hypothesis without proving these particular stonemasons used it.
- D
Different column heights don't tell us whether the workers used drawings. A scale drawing can represent a larger or smaller structure. We need evidence about the method, not just a difference between the finished columns.
- E
Experience could explain why the stonemasons were good at carving. But experienced workers could use a scale drawing or some other method. This helps establish their skill without giving a reason to select the archaeologist's particular explanation.
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