Exactly when in the early modern era Native Americans began exchanging animal furs with Europeans for European-made goods is uncertain. What is fairly certain, even though they left no written evidence of having done so, is that the first Europeans to conduct such trade during the modern period were fishing crews working the waters around Newfoundland. Archaeologists had noticed that sixteenth-century Native American sites were strewn with iron bolts and metal pins. Only later, upon reading Nicolas Denys's 1672 account of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America, did archaeologists realize that sixteenth-century European fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships for furs. By the time Europeans sailing the Atlantic coast of North America first documented the fur trade, it was apparently well underway. The first to record such trade—the captain of a Portuguese vessel sailing from Newfoundland in 1501—observed that a Native American aboard the ship wore Venetian silver earrings. Another early chronicler noted in 1524 that Native Americans living along the coast of what is now New England had become selective about European trade goods : they accepted only knives, fishhooks, and sharp metal. By the time Cartier sailed the Saint Lawrence River ten years later, Native Americans had traded with Europeans for more than thirty years, perhaps half a century. 1 The author of the passage draws conclusions about the fur trade in North America from all of the following sources EXCEPT A. Cartier’s accounts of trading with Native Americans B. a seventeenth-century account of European settlements C. a sixteenth-century account written by a sailing vessel captain D. archaeological observations of sixteenth-century Native American sites E. a sixteenth-century account of Native Americans in what is now New England 2 The passage suggests that which of the following is partially responsible for the difficulty in establishing the precise date when the fur trade in North America began? A. A lack of written accounts before that of Nicolas Denys in 1672 B. A lack of written documentation before 1501 C. Ambiguities in the evidence from Native American sources D. Uncertainty about Native American trade networks E. Uncertainty about the origin of artifacts supposedly traded by European fishing crews for furs 3 Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the author’s assertion in the first sentence of the second paragraph? A. When Europeans retraced Cartier’s voyage in the first years of the seventeenth century, they frequently traded with Native Americans. B. Furs from beavers, which were plentiful in North America but nearly extinct in Europe, became extremely fashionable in Europe in the final decades of the sixteenth century. C. Firing arms were rarely found on sixteenth-century Native American sites or on European lists of trading goods since such arms required frequent maintenance and repair. D. Europeans and Native Americans had established trade protocols, such as body language assuring one another of their peaceful intentions, that antedate the earliest records of trade. E. During the first quarter of the sixteenth century, an Italian explorer recorded seeing many Native Americans with what appeared to be copper beads, though they may have been made of indigenous copper. 4 Which of the following best describes the primary function of lines 11–16 ? A. It offers a reconsideration of a claim made in the preceding sentence. B. It reveals how archaeologists arrived at an interpretation of the evidence mentioned in the preceding sentence. C. It shows how scholars misinterpreted the significance of certain evidence mentioned in the preceding sentence. D. It identifies one of the first significant accounts of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America. E. It explains why Denys’s account of seventeenth-century European settlements is thought to be significant. 5 It can be inferred from the passage that the author would agree with which of the following statements about the fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans in the early modern era? A. This trade may have begun as early as the 1480s. B. This trade probably did not continue much beyond the 1530s. C. This trade was most likely at its peak in the mid-1520s. D. This trade probably did not begin prior to 1500. E. There is no written evidence of this trade prior to the seventeenth century. 6 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the Native Americans mentioned in line 25 ? A. They had little use for decorative objects such as earrings. B. They became increasingly dependent on fishing between 1501 and 1524. C. By 1524, only certain groups of Europeans were willing to trade with them. D. The selectivity of their trading choices made it difficult for them to engage in widespread trade with Europeans. E. The selectivity of their trading choices indicates that they had been trading with Europeans for a significant period of time prior to 1524. 7 The passage supports which of the following statements about sixteenth-century European fishing crews working the waters off Newfoundland? A. They wrote no accounts of their fishing voyages. B. They primarily sailed under the flag of Portugal. C. They exchanged ship parts with Native Americans for furs. D. They commonly traded jewelry with Native Americans for furs. E. They carried surplus metal implements to trade with Native Americans for furs. 8 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about evidence pertaining to the fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans in the early modern era? A. A lack of written evidence has made it difficult to establish which Europeans first participated in this trade. B. In general, the physical evidence pertaining to this trade has been more useful than the written evidence has been. C. There is more written evidence pertaining to this trade from the early part of the sixteenth century than from later in that century. D. The earliest written evidence pertaining to this trade dates from a time when the trade was already well established. E. Some important pieces of evidence pertaining to this trade, such as Denys’s 1672 account, were long overlooked by archaeologists. 9 The passage suggests which of the following about the sixteenth-century Native Americans who traded with Europeans on the coast of what is now called New England? A. By 1524 they had become accustomed to exchanging goods with Europeans. B. They were unfamiliar with metals before encountering Europeans. C. They had no practical uses for European goods other than metals and metal implements. D. By 1524 they had become disdainful of European traders because such traders had treated them unfairly in the past. E. By 1524 they demanded only the most prized European goods because they had come to realize how valuable furs were on European markets.

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Exactly when in the early modern era Native Americans began exchanging

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Shef08

I don't know option C is correct for this one. Can someone explain:

I marked D, but couldn't understand why C is correct.

The passage supports which of the following statements about sixteenth-century European fishing crews working the waters off Newfoundland?

A. They wrote no accounts of their fishing voyages.
B. They primarily sailed under the flag of Portugal.
C. They exchanged ship parts with Native Americans for furs.
D. They commonly traded jewelry with Native Americans for furs.
E. They carried surplus metal implements to trade with Native Americans for furs.

To answer this question, we need to know precisely what the passage says about sixteenth-century European fishing crews working the waters off Newfoundland.

Lines 4-9 tell us that "fishing crews working the waters around Newfoundland" were the first Europeans to trade European-made goods with modern era Native Americans. Lines 9-16 elaborate on this trading, by telling us:

sixteenth-century European fishing

crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their
ships for furs.

This is all the information we need to keep choice (C). Lines 14-16 explicitly matches what is stated by choice (C), while reading the paragraph as a whole confirms that that the "fishing crews" mentioned at the end of this paragraph are in fact the same ones that were mentioned "working the waters around Newfoundland" and trading with Native Americans.

Now let's take a look at choice (D):

Quote:

D. They commonly traded jewelry with Native Americans for furs.

Jewelry trading is never associated with the sixteenth-century European fishing crews that the question is asking us about. In fact, jewelry is not mentioned in the passage at all.

Choice (D) is not supported by anything in the passage, while (C) is explicitly supported by the passage.

I hope this helps!

Hi GMATNinja,

How did you arrive at the conclusion that "In fact, jewelry is not mentioned in the passage at all." . Lines 20-25 clearly mentions "Venetian silver earrings" ?

GMATNinja, CrackVerbalGMAT, egmat, gmatprep

(Book Question: 51), Question 6
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the Native Americans mentioned in line 25?

A. They had little use for decorative objects such as earrings.
B. They became increasingly dependent on fishing between 1501 and 1524.
C. By 1524, only certain groups of Europeans were willing to trade with them.
D. The selectivity of their trading choices made it difficult for them to engage in widespread trade with Europeans.
E. The selectivity of their trading choices indicates that they had been trading with Europeans for a significant period of time prior to 1524.

Why is option B wrong? According to me, as per line 25, if Native Americans became selective about exchanging only knives, fishhooks, and sharp metal, can't we infer that they became increasingly dependent of fishing? I acknowledge that "increasingly dependent" is bit of a stretch.

Line 25 (from passage)

" Another early chronicler noted in 1524 that Native Americans living along the coast of what is now
New England had become selective about European trade goods: they accepted only knives, fishhooks, and sharp metal."

Moreover, in the correct option E, how can we say based on selectivity of their trading choices that "they had been trading with Europeans for a significant period of time prior to 1524". We can certainly say this based on the overall information presented in the passage but can we really say this solely based on Native Americans' "selectivity of trading choices"?

Hi

Let me try to address your queries on Q6.

Firstly, you have got it absolutely spot on that "increasingly dependent" is the key word which makes option (B) incorrect. From the passage, all we can gather is that they increasingly accepted goods which appear to be used in fishing. It is possible that they accepted these goods for the ease of fishing, without actually increasing their dependence on fishing in any material way. This option is extrapolating beyond acceptable levels.

With regards to option (E), it is not just the "selectivity", but the fact that they had become selective over a period of time that indicates that the Native Americans had been trading with Europeans for a long period of time. This is evident from the passage which states they "had become selective".

Hope this clarifies.

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21 Aug 2020, 23:53

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tyildirim92 GMATNinja request you to help with this one please.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the Native Americans mentioned in line 25?

A. They had little use for decorative objects such as earrings. - Can not be inferred
B. They became increasingly dependent on fishing between 1501 and 1524. - While one may want to make this conclusion because the Native Americans only wanted to trade certain items related to fishing, this stretches it
C. By 1524, only certain groups of Europeans were willing to trade with them. - Unknown
D. The selectivity of their trading choices made it difficult for them to engage in widespread trade with Europeans. - This is a trap answer and if this is the case, then why would the trade have continued on for at least 30 years?
E. The selectivity of their trading choices indicates that they had been trading with Europeans for a significant period of time prior to 1524.

I marked D here. I have the following questions:
The passage in line 26 states that they accepted only knives, fishhooks and sharp metal. and taking this point into consideration can't it be assumed that they were only interested in selective trade? Thus, can't it be inferred that the selectivity of their trade choices narrowed their trade with the Europeans?

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Hi

Let me try to address your query.

In my view, you are extrapolating the information given in the passage to an extent which cannot be justified. It is true that the passage states that the Native Americans accepted only certain goods and items from the Europeans. But there is nothing in the passage which states whether this "made it difficult" for them to trade or not. It is very much possible that these three goods which were accepted by Native Americans were available in large quantities with the Europeans which allowed widespread trade.

As such, assuming that this is not the case requires a leap which is not justified given the information in the passage. Additionally, we have a much better answer option in (E) which is fully justified by the information given in the passage. Given this, it would not be correct to select option (D) over option (E).

Hope this helps.

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Shef08

sixteenth-century European fishing

crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their
ships for furs.

Quote:

D. They commonly traded jewelry with Native Americans for furs.

Is B wrong just because of the word "Primarily". Otherwise it is mentioned that they proceeded in a Portugese vessel.

And your SC videos are very helpful.( I know this question belongs to CR.)

Regards,
Gaurav

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Hi experts, for Q8, why is D better than B? Is B too strong?

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samgyupsal

Hi experts, for Q8, why is D better than B? Is B too strong?

Hi Sam

Option (B) states: In general, the physical evidence pertaining to this trade has been more useful than the written evidence has been.

This is too wide ranging a statement to make basis the evidence presented in the passage. The passage does state that archaeologists discovered iron bolts and metal
pins in 16th century native American sites and that written evidence for the fur trade is dated later than when the trade began. However, this is not sufficient for us to draw the conclusion that written evidence has been less useful than physical evidence.

It is possible that the written evidence, even though from later than when the trade started, has been so detailed that it is as useful as the physical evidence. Remember, written evidence, even though from later than when the trade started, could have been discovered and studied much earlier than archaeological evidence. We do not have enough information from the passage to state which has been more useful.

Hope this helps.

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Question 7

Gauravvinod92

GMATNinja

Shef08

sixteenth-century European fishing

crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their
ships for furs.

Quote:

D. They commonly traded jewelry with Native Americans for furs.

I'm glad that you've found the SC videos helpful, Gaurav!

As for question 7, answer choice (B):

Quote:

B. [Sixteenth-century European fishing crews working the waters off Newfoundland] primarily sailed under the flag of Portugal.

The passage mentions that one ship was Portuguese, but we have no idea whether the ships were primarily Portuguese. The passage doesn't support (B), so you can eliminate it.

I hope that helps!

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VeritasKarishma

I understand why A is correct, but don't understand why E is incorrect. What does a sixteenth-century account of Native Americans mean in option E?

The author of the passage draws conclusions about the fur trade in North America from all of the following sources EXCEPT

A. Cartier’s accounts of trading with Native Americans Out
-> By the time Cartier sailed the Saint Lawrence River ten years later, Native Americans had traded with Europeans for more than thirty years
-> The passage did not mention the accounts of Cartier. We just know that the time of sailing of Cartier.

E. a sixteenth-century account of Native Americans in what is now New England
-> Archaeologists had noticed that sixteenth-century Native American sites were strewn with iron bolts and metal pins.

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Ranasaymon

This is what is given in the passage:

"Another early chronicler noted in 1524 that
Native Americans living along the coast of what is now
(25)
New England had become selective about European
trade goods: they accepted only knives, fishhooks,
and sharp metal."

This is the 16th century account of Native Americans. The author tells us that in 1501, a captain noticed that a Native American wore Venetian silver earrings (so trade was happening since before 1501). And in 1524, a chronicler noted that Native Americans accepted only sharp metal so trade had been happening.

Hence the author uses (E) to draw conclusions about the trade.

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Hi experts GMATNinja egmat and others

I have question about this question

Quote:

Which of the following best describes the primary function of lines 11–16?

B. It reveals how archaeologists arrived at an interpretation of the evidence mentioned in the preceding sentence.
C. It shows how scholars misinterpreted the significance of certain evidence mentioned in the preceding sentence.

From what I understand in the passage, should be option (C) rather than (B)?

Quote:

Preceding clause
Archaeologists had noticed that sixteenth-century Native American sites were strewn with iron bolts and metal.
Line 11-16
Only later, upon reading Nicolas Denys’s 1672 account of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America, did archaeologists realize that sixteenth-century European fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships for furs.

I think it should be (C) because the word "realize that .... = misinterpret sth and then just know that it is what they think" meaning that what Archaeologist had noticed previously is the significant evidence.

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Question 4

Foi2Evei2

Hi experts GMATNinja egmat and others

I have question about this question

Quote:

From what I understand in the passage, should be option (C) rather than (B)?

Quote:

The word "realized" doesn't necessarily mean that something was misinterpreted.

For example, I could discover that food is disappearing from my fridge. Later, I could realize that a stranger had been living in my attic for years and sneaking out at night to eat some of my beloved snacks.

There is no misinterpretation in the above example -- there's just a baffling situation, and then a realization about why that situation is happening. For the "realization" to correct a previous misinterpretation, there would need to be a previous interpretation. That previous interpretation just isn't there.

Similarly, the passage just tells us about a certain fact: "sixteenth-century Native American sites were strewn with iron bolts and metal pins." There is no interpretation offered to explain this situation.

Then, in lines 11-16, the author tells us about the archeologists' interpretation of the situation: "Only later, upon reading Nicolas Denys’s 1672 account of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America, did archaeologists realize that sixteenth-century European fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships for furs."

Because there's no misinterpretation of the significance of the iron bolts/metal pins, (C) is out for question 4.

(B) is a much better fit: how did archeologists find out that Europeans fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships? By reading Nicolas Denys’s 1672 account of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America.

Lines 11-16 reveal how archeologists arrived at their interpretation of the iron bolts/metal pins, so (B) is the answer to question 4.

I hope that helps!

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NaeemHasan

Can anyone explain the question 5 which is
It can be inferred from the passage that the author would agree with which of the following statements about the fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans in the early modern era?
A. This trade may have begun as early as the 1480s.
B. This trade probably did not continue much beyond the 1530s.
C. This trade was most likely at its peak in the mid-1520s.
D. This trade probably did not begin prior to 1500.
E. There is no written evidence of this trade prior to the seventeenth century.

Why not E? And why A?

The author claims that the fur trade was well underway by the time it was first recorded in 1501. Furthermore, the author says that by the time Cartier sailed the St. Lawrence (ten years after 1524, so 1534), Europeans may have been trading with Native Americans for a half century (50 years before 1534, so 1484). Thus, the author would agree that the trade may have begun as early as the 1480s, and choice (A) is correct.

GMATNinja
Hello Sir, I am bit confused with the calculation here!
So, if we think about 50 yrs (the highest one, not assuming 30 yrs), then the calculation result would be 1484, which is under 1480s. But, the correct choice A uses the word(s) as early, which could mean before 1480 (but our calculation result is 1484). The calculation does not make sense here to me. Am I missing anything? Could you clarify it, please?
Thank you very much.

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TheUltimateWinner
"As early as" is used to describe the earliest date or time we currently know to be possible. So if something takes 3-5 business days to arrive and I order on a Tuesday, we'd say the order may arrive "as early as Friday." This is the earliest date we're aware of for it to arrive, although we don't know for sure that it won't come sooner, and we certainly aren't saying it must come Friday or earlier.

In the case at hand, we have evidence that trade may have occurred in 1848. Since that's in the 1840's, we can say that this trade may have begun as early as the 1840's. This in no way implies anything about dates before 1848, although it doesn't write them off.

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Only later, upon reading Nicolas Denys’s 1672 account of seventeenth-century European settlements in North America, did archaeologists realize that sixteenth-century European fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships for furs.

Can someone explain to me the meaning of the above sentence?

As per my understanding, It is raising a question that archaeologists understood about fishing crew trade after reading Nicolas account or before reading it.

And it is still not 100% confirmed that European fishing crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their ships for furs.

GMATNinja
KarishmaB
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daagh

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760Abhi

This is not raising a question. It is a statement.
There is subject verb inversion here which happens commonly when we use negative adverbs such as only, hardly etc in the beginning of the sentence. Subject verb inversion does happen in questions and that is what confused you I assume.

Only later, upon reading ND's account ..., did archaeologists realize X

means

Only later archaeologists realized X upon reading ND's account.
i.e. they did not realise X at first. When they read ND's account, they realised it.

Another example of inversion:
Hardly had I woken up when my sister started yelling.

It means I had just woken up when my sister started yelling.

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HI KarishmaB ThatDudeKnows, 2 questions :

In question 46, I chose D over A because the archeological discoveries by themselves didn't tell anything. Only after Deny's accounts, some sense could be made out those discoveries. Is it incorrect because the discoveries eventually do tell us something about the trade?

In question 53, option E states that Nicolas Deny's accounts were "overlooked"? Does that make this option incorrect? Maybe the accounts were just discovered later and not exactly overlooked.

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06 Jul 2022, 19:10

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Namangupta1997

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46: Yep, your explanation is exactly right. The timing of when those findings help "draw conclusions about the fur trade in North America" is irrelevant, only that they did help. I think the more important take-away for you on this question is to revisit why you eliminated (A). (A) is a textbook GMAC Out-of-Scope answer choice where they get you to assume that someone did something just because wit would make sense. But all we hear about Cartier is that he sailed the Saint Laurence; we never hear a peep about his accounts of anything, much less his "accounts of trading with Native Americans."

53: I'm not exactly sure what you mean, but I think you've got it. Denys's account wasn't overlooked; in fact, it was the catalyst that led to archaeologists realizing something new about old evidence. If anything was "overlooked," it was the old evidence, not Denys's account. As with the previous question, I think the more important take-away is trying to figure out what it was about D that caused you to eliminate it. There were already previous questions on this passage for which doing the math on the years would have been helpful, so if you did that math for those questions, what was it about this one that made you not catch that you could apply the same knowledge on this question?

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06 Jul 2022, 20:42

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ThatDudeKnows

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Thanks for a prompt response!
Taking your advice, I tried to reflect upon my thought process and to understand as to what made me eliminate D. Honestly, I couldn't eliminate D. I kind of thought D was not very specific. I thought E was stronger as it related directly to the passage as Deny's accounts seems to give some sort of turning point to the passage. Now I understand that the exact wording of option E does not resonate with the given passage. Maybe I fell for the dreaded shell game?

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06 Jul 2022, 21:07

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Namangupta1997

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Partially Wrong is Totally Wrong.
You are far better off using process of elimination to identify four wrong answers than you are looking for the one right answer. A lot of students are good at using PoE to get rid of three answer choices…and then once they get down to two, they flip to looking for which one is right. You may need to do this on occasion, but it’s rare (much rarer than many test-takers think...maybe once or twice per test). As a general rule, you’ll want to get good at sticking with process of elimination. This is because there is one right answer and the other four are demonstrably wrong. They’re not just not as good. They’re wrong. And a lot of times, the test writers make a wrong answer sound really good except for one little issue that makes it so that you should eliminate it. Maybe the part that sounds good sounds even better than the answer that ends up being right…but that one little thing makes it wrong. The most delicious bowl of ice cream would be completely ruined by drizzling mustard on it. And when you look for the right answer instead of the wrong one, you fall right into the trap and eat that nasty ice cream. Look for the mustard, not the ice cream.

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08 Jul 2022, 06:24

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I too don't understand why E is incorrect. What does a sixteenth-century account of Native Americans mean in option E?

The author tells us that in 1501, a captain (European) noticed that a Native American wore Venetian silver earrings (so trade was happening since before 1501). And in 1524, a chronicler noted that Native Americans accepted only sharp metal so trade had been happening.

Are NOT the captain and the chronicler, both Europeans...? How can one say that these (observations about natives by Europeans) are (records of) native Americans...?

GMATNinja
Sire, your guidance and sorted views are desperately needed here.

mSKR

VeritasKarishma

Ranasaymon

Further on this question, I have doubts about B and E due to reasoning below:

The author of the passage draws conclusions about the fur trade in North America from all of the following sources EXCEPT

E. a sixteenth-century account of Native Americans in what is now New England
>>I selected E because of accounts of Native americans. Author didn't find accounts of any NATIVE AMERICANS but all accounts were of EUROPEANS. Isn't it?
account doesn't mean some content by him. native americans had not recorded anything.
please comment.

please suggest what's wrong with my reasoning for A, B and E