Architects and stonemasons, huge palace and temple clusters were built

Architects and stonemasons, huge palace and temple clusters were built by the Maya without benefit of the wheel or animal transport.

As the Appositive phrase (nouns describing nouns) is not underlined the a noun to be modified is needed and needed quick. Noun modifiers do not wait that long. Check the options:

(A) huge palace and temple clusters were built by the Maya without benefit of the wheel or animal transport - Architects and stone masons, huge palace? thats not the right noun to be modified. Do not proceed.

(B) without the benefits of animal transport or the wheel, huge palace and temple clusters were built by the Maya - Architects and stone masons, without benefit of animal transport built...(would have worked if it said the architects without benefit built huge temples. This would have converted the 'Architects and stone masons' from a modifier to the main subject. But we have another subject that need the word i.e. Maya) Ditch this hitch.

(C) the Maya built huge palace and temple clusters without the benefit of animal transport or the wheel - Architects and stone masons, the Maya built? Good. Good. See if there are other options as contenders testing other concepts.

(D) there were built, without the benefit of the wheel or animal transport, huge palace and temple clusters by the Maya - Architects and stone masons, there were built? Hard Pass. No noun for modifier close by plus no verb to make it the main subject.

(E) were the Maya who, without the benefit of the wheel or animal transport, built huge palace and temple clusters - Architects and stone masons, were the Maya who, without the benefit, built huge temples. In structure this is okayish (not as good as B) but if you look deeper it puts 'were the Maya' as a non essential information between commas. Maya should have been held in a better light. Go for B.