CrackverbalGMAT
"The single-family house constructed by the Yana, ( Introduces the Subject of the Sentence - this is a noun phrase )
a Native American people ( description about Yana - answers question who are the Yana )
who lived in what is now northern California, ( add -on information about their place of origin- dependent clause )
was conical in shape, ( this is the action our subject performs - the MAIN CLAUSE -The single-family house constructed by the Yana....................was conical in shape. )
its framework of poles overlaid with slabs of bark, ( A new independent clause about its Framework starts )
either cedar or pine, ( this phrase describes the type of bark )
and banked with dirt to a height of three to four feet." ( the next action related to its framework conjoined by the conjunction and)
To understand sentence structure one can use the role-play of each phrase/clause & which entity they are related to or refer to.
CrackverbalGMATPer your explanation, there are two Independent clauses and I think they both are joined with just a comma. So, isn't this a case of a comma splice ? I believe two ICs should be joined either by FANBOYS or by a SEMICOLON(;).
1st IC:- The single-family house constructed by the Yana was conical in shape
2nd IC:- its framework of poles overlaid with slabs of bark, and banked with dirt to a height of three to four feet.
Could you kindly clarify whether the above mentioned independent clauses are correctly conjugated?