Jayantalawadhi
I was confused between C and E. I noticed the meaning difference between the two, figured the difference in meaning between the two but felt that both the meanings though different could work. selected C because of the more conventional construction but still wasn't confident about my answer. can someone explain what is wrong with E.
The comma placement is problematic. A comma does not belong between the subject and verb of a simple sentence ("Architects and stonemasons were...")
Also, "Architects and stonemasons were the Maya" is the wrong way to write that sentence. That phrasing implies that architects and stonemasons,
in general, belonged to the Maya tribes.
More generally, "X is/are/was/were Y" is NOT the same statement as "Y is/as/was/were X". This type of statement is a generalization about its
subject.
E.g.,
Snakes are reptiles (a generalization about snakes) is a true statement.
Reptiles are snakes (a generalization about reptiles), on the other hand, is false.