Building on civilizations that preceded them in coastal Peru, the Mohica developed their own elaborate society, based on cultivating such crops like corn and beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish, and exploiting other wild and domestic resources.

(A) based on cultivating such crops like corn and beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish, and exploiting
(B) based on the cultivation of such crops as corn and beans, the harvesting of fish and seafood, and the exploitation of
(C) and basing it on the cultivation of crops like corn and beans, harvesting fish and seafood, and the exploiting of
(D) and they based it on their cultivation of crops such as corn and beans, the harvest of fish and seafood, and exploting
(E) and they based it on their cultivating such crops like corn and beans, their harvest of fish and shellfish, and they exploited

Any one like to answer this ?

IMO - B

I think - the question is testing parallelism and B seems to be best answer -

based on the cultivation of such crops as corn and beans, the harvesting of fish and seafood, and the exploitation of

Answer B is correct. A has the word "the" before the word "harvesting". This breaks parallelism.

"based on cultivating such crops like corn and beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish, and exploiting"

By method of elimination i got B.
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If you really want to apply parallelism to this sentence, you'll need to know a slightly arcane rule about gerunds. Let's lay out some terms first. Gerunds are verbs transformed into nouns by the addition of -ing.

A simple gerund is one that could function as a verb, modifiers and all. In the following sentences, the simple gerund is in bold.
I love skiing.
Skiing is my favorite winter sport.
Skiing through avalanche territory is especially exciting.
Again, the bolded portions above are simple gerunds, because they could serve as verbs in a sentence such as I am skiing, or I am skiing through avalanche country.

A complex gerund is one that could not serve as a verb. I won't list here all the ways to create complex gerunds, but watch out in particular for articles and for of phrases. I'll give you a reference to some additional information below. In the meantime, here is an example of a complex gerund.
The opening of the new shopping mall drew fewer customers than the developers had hoped.
You couldn't say I am opening of...

OK, here's the slightly arcane rule. There are three sorts of nouns: (1) concrete nouns, (2) action nouns and complex gerunds, (3) simple gerunds. No list or other parallel structure can mix these. (It's easy to find perfectly good sentences that violate this rule, but not on the GMAT: this rule applies reliably to GMAT SC.)

Now let's apply that rule here:


Every list means parallelism. Let's see what is being compared in each answer choice, and ask whether the elements are structurally similar and logically comparable.

In A, the list is cultivating..., the harvesting of ..., and exploiting. Cultivating and exploiting are simple gerunds, but the harvesting of is a complex gerund. ELIMINATE.

In B, the list is the cultivation..., the harvesting..., and the exploitation of.... Cultivation is not a gerund at all, but remember that action nouns can be parallel with complex gerunds. So fine.

In C, the list is the cultivation..., harvesting..., and the exploiting of . Harvesting is a simple gerund, while the exploiting of is a complex gerund. ELIMINATE.

In D, the list is their cultivation..., the harvest..., and exploiting of. Similar problem with gerunds and other nouns. ELIMINATE.

In E, the list is their cultivating..., their harvest..., and they exploited. This is the most egregious error. They exploited is a clause, while cultivating and harvest are nouns. ELIMINATE.


That leaves B. If you want the more nuanced account of gerunds I mentioned above, go to 213-215 of the MGMAT SC Strategy Guide.
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Clear B...very nicely explained Michael