In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive

Question

In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community. Membership in the community, based on kinship, provided constituents, both men and women, with access to these resources. The community apportioned land on the basis of household size, and the right to use various lands was passed by inheritance from one generation to the next. Although women relinquished their portion of land when they married, marriage enabled them to acquire other land and goods essential to establishing a new household. In addition, in certain pre-Incan communities, there existed a higher rank of people known as curacas, who were entitled to make a greater claim on the community's resources. Records indicate that in some instances women served as curacas, participating in governing councils that made decisions affecting the community as a whole.

Scholars have suggested that with the conquest of these communities by Incan, women were relegated to a lesser status. It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land. Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women.

Evidence indicates that, in Incan society, women’s tasks could have afforded them considerable status. For instance, one of women’s main functions in Incan society was that of weaving cloth. The distribution and exchange of cloth were essential to the empire’s economic structure and more important, designs woven into belts, ponchos, and shawls constituted a form of symbolic communication. Primarily by decoding designs found in modern weavings, designs also found in pre-Columbian Incan material, Gertrude Solari has shown that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers, accounts of critical events, and in some instances even the entire history of a community.    1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) compare scholarly views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities with scholarly views of the status of women in the Incan empire
(B) analyse the implications of recently discovered evidence concerning the role of women in the Incan society
(C) question the accuracy of a view of the effects of the Incan conquest on the status of women in the conquered communities
(D) question the reliability of descriptions of the Inca society by Spanish clerics and conquistadores
(E) present evidence of the significance of women’s work in the Incan empire

2 
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that land distribution in the Incan empire differed from that in pre-Incan Andean communities in that the Incas

(A) based the distribution of land on the productivity of individual families
(B) used grants of and to ensure loyalty to the state
(C) afforded women more access to community-owned land
(D) forbade the curacas from owning more than their share of land
(E) suspended the requirement that women relinquish their inherited lands when they married

3 
 3. Which of the following statements concerning the status of women in Incan society can be inferred from the passage

(A) Women were largely excluded from membership in the bureaucratic and professional classes.
(B) On marrying, women could acquire land and goods essential to establishing a new household.
(C) Women were given equal access to productive resources.
(D) In some instances women served as curacas.
(E) Women had access to little information about political events in their communities.

4 
 4. It can be inferred from the passage that Gertrude Solari assumes which of the following in her discussion of the symbolic designs woven into Incan textiles

(A) The designs have meanings similar to those found in modern weavings.
(B) The designs are similar to those found in weavings done by women in other pre-Columbian cultures.
(C) The designs were meant to be decipherable only to members of the Incan bureaucracy.
(D) The designs provided Spanish clerics and conquistadores with much of their information about
Incan culture and society.
(E) The women who manufactured the textiles were considered by the Incans to be the official historians of their empire.

5 
 5. The passage suggests that recent scholarship describing the effect on women of the Incan conquest is

(A) inaccurate in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land
(B) inaccurate in its interpretation of the significance of women’s participation in the political life of pre-Incan Andean communities.
(C) accurate in its interpretation of the basis on which land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned
(D) accurate because it correctly interprets the significance of women’s work in Incan society
(E) accurate because it is based on the firsthand accounts of Spanish observers

Hoozan · Accepted Answer

Before reading the following solutions, I would like to point out that there is a similar and better version of the above passage:    https://gmatclub.com/forum/recent-scholarship-has-argued-that-the-formation-and-expansion-of-stat-407808.html

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P1:  How Pre-Incan Andean communities operated and women's status in this community

P2:   Scholars' view on the changes w.r.t women's rights and roles as the communities were conquered by Incas: Women's status diminished

P3:  Evidence of how women could have held a considerable status in the community: Textile = increase in women's status.
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1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Incorrect:  The views of scholars are only mentioned in P2. P1 and P3 Mainly state facts. So there is no comparison made between scholarly views.

Incorrect:  P3 presents evidence BUT is it  recently discovered ? Moreover, the author is merely stating views and facts he is not analyzing any  implications .

Hold:  P1 gives us background information. P2 gives us the views held by Scholars. P3 gives us evidence that reduces our confidence in the view presented in P2. So yes, "questioning the accuracy of a view" is reasonable.

Incorrect:  "descriptions of the Inca society by  Spanish clerics  and  conquistadores " - where is such description even mentioned?

Incorrect:  This option merely covers the gist of P3. But is this the primary purpose? I doubt. What about P1 and P2?

Correct Answer:  (C)  
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2. It can be inferred from the passage that land distribution in the Incan empire differed from that in pre-Incan Andean communities in that the Incas

"It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded,  the state needed to ensure the loyalty  of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military,  and thus it began to award  these groups  various grants of land. "

(A) based the distribution of land on the productivity of individual families
(B) used grants of and to ensure loyalty to the state -  Correct 
(C) afforded women more access to community-owned land
(D) forbade the Caracas from owning more than their share of land
(E) suspended the requirement that women relinquish their inherited lands when they married

Correct Answer:  (B)  
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3. Which of the following statements concerning the status of women in Incan society can be inferred from the passage

"It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of  a growing bureaucracy , professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land.  Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine , the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women."

(A) Women were largely excluded from membership in the bureaucratic and professional classes. -  Correct  - Based on the highlighted portion in P2, we can infer Choice A.

(B) On marrying, women could acquire land and goods essential to establishing a new household. -  Incorrect  - This was mentioned in P1 in the pre-Incan Andean communities

(C) Women were given equal access to productive resources. -  Incorrect   - This was mentioned in P1 in the pre-Incan Andean communities

(D) In some instances women served as Caracas. -  Incorrect   - This was mentioned in P1 in the pre-Incan Andean communities

(E) Women had access to little information about political events in their communities. -  Incorrect  - Nowhere is this mentioned in the passage

Correct Answer:  (A)  
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4. It can be inferred from the passage that Gertrude Solari assumes which of the following in her discussion of the symbolic designs woven into Incan textiles

"Primarily by decoding designs  found in modem weavings , designs  also found in pre-Columbian Incan material ,  Gertrude Solari has shown  that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life"

Why did GS consider the modern and the pre-Columbian Incan? Clearly, she believes there is some similarity between the two

(A) The designs have meanings similar to those found in modern weavings. -  Correct

(B) The designs are similar to those found in weavings  done by women in other pre-Columbian cultures.  -  Incorrect   - Comparison of OTHER cultures is not made

(C) The designs were meant to be decipherable  only to members of the Incan bureaucracy.  -  Incorrect   - The designs were a form of symbolic communication. BUT the passage doesn't suggest that ONLY the members could decipher the designs

(D) The designs provided  Spanish clerics and conquistadores  with much of their information about Incan culture and society. - Incorrect - The mention of the highlighted people is nowhere done in the passage let alone in GS' study

(E) The women who manufactured the textiles were considered by the Incans to be the  official historians of their empire . -  Incorrect  - Again, no such information is mentioned not considered by GS

Correct Answer:  (A)  
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5. The passage suggests that recent scholarship describing the effect on women of the Incan conquest is

"It is true that, as the  Incan empire expanded , the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and  thus it began to award these groups various grants of land . Since t he activities that earned grants of land  from the state  were defined  by Incan culture  as almost exclusively masculine "

(A)  inaccurate  in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land -  Incorrect  - The it  true  and hence accurate

(B) inaccurate in its interpretation of the significance of  women’s participation in the political life  of pre-Incan Andean communities. - Incorrect - Political life isn't mentioned

(C)  accurate  in its interpretation of the basis on which land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned -  Correct   - Compared to the pre-Incan Andean the women were not given land grants.

(D) accurate because it  correctly interprets the significance of women’s work  in Incan society - Incorrect - Rather, the scholars expected "corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women."

(E) accurate because it is based on the  firsthand accounts of Spanish observers  -  Incorrect  - Nowhere mentioned 
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zhanbo · Answer

The reading passage is not shown in its entirety.  I can only read until "Gertrude Solari has shown that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life". Evidently, it should be followed by "by also ...". And there remains possibility that there are other unpublished sentences or paragraphs. Such psychological uncertainly poses greater challenge to test takers.

Besides,  there is a typo in the reading passage: "modern" is misspelt as "modem".  I have to pause to interpret it, to no vail. It is only after I saw question (4) that I realized the typo.

Question 1 . My answer is  (C) . 
(A) The passage does present views of the the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities, and different views of the status of women in the Incan empire. But there are no comparisons involved. 
(B) What is the recently discovered evidence? I only see "Evidence indicates" at the beginning of the third paragraph. It does not even mention "recently". Maybe it is presented in the missing texts?
(C) In choosing this option, I relegate the first paragraph to provide background information and deem the contrast between second and third paragraph the primary purpose of the passage.
(D) I do not read anything about "Spanish clerics and conquistadores"
(E) The evidence was mentioned in the third paragraph only. An author should dedicate the majority of her texts to the primary purpose.

Question (2) . My answer is  (B) . A detail question. We do not need to "infer" for this question. 
In the second paragraph: "It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land"
(ACDE) Not mentioned. 
(B) Clearly stated

Question (3) . My answer is  (A) . An inference question.
We infer answer (A) from this sentence: Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women.
(BCDE) can not be inferred at all.

Question (4) . My answer is  (A) . 
Based on "Primarily by decoding designs found in modem (Read:modern) weavings, designs also found in pre-Columbian Incan material, Gertrude Solari has..."

Question (5) . My answer is  (A) 
Recent scholarship should refer to the views presented in the second paragraph. 
The third paragraph presented evidence to cast doubt on those views. 
I chose (A) rather than (B) because the second paragraph discusses the supposed impact of new methods but not anything about pre-Incan communities.

sshwetima · Answer

Paragraph 1 - Talks about pre-Incan Andean communities, how land and community resources were distributed among communities based on factors such as kinship, inheritance. It also presented that women had part to play in governing councils.

Paragraph 2 - According to Scholars, authority and autonomy of women diminished after the above mentioned communities were conquered by Incas. Reason for same is stated as  " the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land. Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine "

Paragraph 3 - Author counters views of scholars by giving evidence of one of the main functions that was played by women - weaving cloth.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to 
 (A) compare scholarly views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities with scholarly views of the status of women in the Incan empire  - scholarly views of Incan empire is mentioned in passage, "views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities" - Author's view not scholar's view
 (B) analyse the implications of recently discovered evidence concerning the role of women in the Incan society  - passage doesn't speak about any recently developed evidences, it does talk about cloth weaving but is it said is this evidence was recently discovered?
 (C) question the accuracy of a view of the effects of the Incan conquest on the status of women in the conquered communities  - Author does question the accuracy of views of scholars by presenting evidences suggesting that women could have played important role in empire's economic structure
 (D) question the reliability of descriptions of the Inca society by Spanish clerics and conquistadores  - no mention of Spanish clerics and conquistadores
 (E) present evidence of the significance of women’s work in the Incan empire  - it's a summary for last paragraph, not overall passage

2. It can be inferred from the passage that land distribution in the Incan empire differed from that in pre-Incan Andean communities in that the Incas

Note: question is asking about what Incan empire did differently

(A) based the distribution of land on the productivity of individual families  - pre-Incan 
 (B) used grants of and to ensure loyalty to the state  - correct - mentioned in para2 
 (C) afforded women more access to community-owned land  - pre-Incan
 (D) forbade the curacas from owning more than their share of land  - cannot be inferred
 (E) suspended the requirement that women relinquish their inherited lands when they married  - not mentioned

3. Which of the following statements concerning the status of women in Incan society can be inferred from the passage

(A) Women were largely excluded from membership in the bureaucratic and professional classes.  - paragraph 2 suggests that to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, grants of land provided to them, and the mentioned groups were almost exclusively masculine
 (B) On marrying, women could acquire land and goods essential to establishing a new household.  - pre-Incan case
 (C) Women were given equal access to productive resources.  - pre-Incan case
 (D) In some instances women served as curacas. - - pre-Incan case
 (E) Women had access to little information about political events in their communities.  - not explicitly mentioned

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Gertrude Solari assumes which of the following in her discussion of the symbolic designs woven into Incan textiles

(A) The designs have meanings similar to those found in modern weavings.  - it does mentioned that modern weaving designs were also found in pre-Columbian Incan material
 (B) The designs are similar to those found in weavings done by women in other pre-Columbian cultures.  - passage mentioned pre-Columbian Incan material, not other cultures
 (C) The designs were meant to be decipherable only to members of the Incan bureaucracy.  - not mentioned
 (D) The designs provided Spanish clerics and conquistadores with much of their information about
Incan culture and society.  - irrelevant 
 (E) The women who manufactured the textiles were considered by the Incans to be the official historians of their empire.  - nothing like this is presented

5. The passage suggests that recent scholarship describing the effect on women of the Incan conquest is

(A) inaccurate in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land  - scholars did this interpretation but found inaccurate
 (B) inaccurate in its interpretation of the significance of women’s participation in the political life of pre-Incan Andean communities.  - presented as facts by author not scholars
 (C) accurate in its interpretation of the basis on which land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned  - presented as facts by author not scholars
 (D) accurate because it correctly interprets the significance of women’s work in Incan society  - inaccurate as countered by Author in 3rd para
 (E) accurate because it is based on the firsthand accounts of Spanish observers  - irrelevant

100mitra · Answer

Paragraph Structure Type:   
Introduction to past phenomenon (In pre-Incan Andean communities vs Incan communities), 
contrast view between second and third paragraph.
  Para 1:  
In pre-Incan Andean communities, highlights about women’s status in the communities for pursue of productive resources
  Para 2:  
Scholars suggests despite various development by new Incas, the women were relegated to a lesser status and the culture was masculine dominated, contrast to para 1
  Para 3:  
Evidence indicates that, in Incan society, women’s tasks could have afforded them considerable status, because as textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers, contrast to para 2

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1. The primary purpose of the passage is to  
(A)  compare scholarly  views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities 
 with scholarly  views of the status of women in the Incan empire   - Wrong  
(B) analyse the implications of  recently discovered evidence  
concerning the role of women in the Incan society   - Wrong

(C)   question the accuracy of a view of the effects of the Incan conquest on the status of women
in the conquered communities   -   Correct  
 Para 2: Highlights - women were relegated to a lesser status in Incan communities 
Para 3: Show – Women importance through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers,

(D) question the reliability of descriptions of the Inca society 
 by Spanish clerics and conquistadores    - Wrong  
(E)  present evidence  of the significance of women’s work in the Incan empire   - Wrong

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2. It can be inferred from the passage 
that land distribution in the  Incan empire  
differed from 
that in  pre-Incan Andean communities  in that the Incas  
(A) based the distribution of land on the productivity of individual families   - Wrong
(para 1- In pre-Incan Andean communities)

(B)   used grants of and to ensure loyalty to the state     – Correct  
As mentioned in the para 2, “ It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land ”

(C) afforded women more access to community-owned land   – wrong (no such mentioned in passage)  
(D) forbade the curacas from owning more than their share of land   – wrong (no such mentioned in passage)  
(E) suspended the requirement that women relinquish their inherited lands when they married 
  - Wrong (para 1- In pre-Incan Andean communities)   –  Incan Although women relinquished their portion of land when they married, marriage enabled them to acquire other land and goods essential to establishing a new household )

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3. Which of the following statements concerning the status of women in Incan society can be inferred from the passage  
(A)   Women were largely excluded from membership in the bureaucratic and professional classes . 
  Correct   – as mentioned in para 2 “ Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women .”

(B) On marrying, women could acquire land and goods essential to establishing a new household 
  – wrong (happened in pre-Incan Andean communities)  
(C) Women were given equal access to productive resources 
  – wrong (happened in pre-Incan Andean communities)  
(D) In some instances, women served as curacas
  – wrong (happened in pre-Incan Andean communities)  
(E) Women had access to little information about political events in their communities   – wrong (out of scope)

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4. It can be inferred from the passage that 
Gertrude Solari assumes which of the following in her discussion of the symbolic designs woven into Incan textiles  
(A)   The designs have meanings similar to those found in modern weavings   
  – correct   (as mentioned in the para 3, “ Primarily by decoding designs found in modem weavings ”)

(No information mentioned in passage) 
(B) The designs are similar to those found in weavings done by 
  women in other pre-Columbian cultures     – wrong  
(C) The designs were meant to be   decipherable     only to members of the Incan bureaucracy     – wrong  
(D) The designs provided   Spanish clerics and conquistadores   with much of their   information about Incan culture and society     – wrong  
(E) The women who manufactured the textiles were considered by the Incans   to be the official historians of their empire     – wrong

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5. The passage suggests that recent scholars describing 
the effect on women of the Incan conquest is  
(A)    inaccurate  in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land   
  – correct  ( as mentioned in the para 2, scholars were accurate – “ Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women .”)
 
(B) inaccurate in its interpretation of the significance of women’s participation in the political life of pre-Incan Andean communities 
  – wrong (No information mentioned in passage)  
(C) accurate in its interpretation of the basis on which 
land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned 
  – wrong,   i t was in pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community. Membership in the community, based on kinship, provided constituents, both men and women, with access to these resources. 
(D) accurate because it correctly interprets the significance of women’s work in Incan society 
  – wrong (it’s the evidence (para3) which indicated not the scholars did)  
(E) accurate because it is based on the first hand accounts of Spanish observers
  – wrong (No information mentioned in passage)

Tanya291095 · Answer

5. The passage suggests that recent scholarship describing the effect on women of the Incan conquest is

(A) inaccurate in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land
(B) inaccurate in its interpretation of the significance of women’s participation in the political life of pre-Incan Andean communities.
(C) accurate in its interpretation of the basis on which land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned
(D) accurate because it correctly interprets the significance of women’s work in Incan society
(E) accurate because it is based on the firsthand accounts of Spanish observers

Between A & C, C is the correct choice because of the following reason:
Lets read the choices word by word
A: inaccurate in its interpretation of the impact that new methods of distributing community resources had on women’s access to land

If we read carefully the author never out rightly says in the passage that the scholars' interpretation is inaccurate. All the author says in the third passage is that there is some evidence that  may  suggest it otherwise so its good to look at facts again. So author is at best questioning and not declaring that the view is inaccurate and for this reason A is wrong.

C:accurate in its interpretation of the basis on which land in pre-Incan Andean communities was apportioned

Scholars in the second passage says that Incan communities distributed land on xyz basis and that this was not the case in pre-Incan community and author seconds that by saying that ''It is true''

ShaillyThareja · Answer

@gmatninja

Hey Charles!

Could you please help me understand how is C the answer to primary purpose question (Question #1)? I couldn't understand how is the author 'questioning' the view. There're no strong opinion words that could imply the 'questioning' aspect of the tone.

Thanks!

GMATNinja · Answer

Let's start by thinking about the author's purpose in each paragraph. Our goal here is to think about the big picture, and to consider not just  what  information is being presented, but  why  the author is presenting it.

Purpose of Paragraph 1 : To discuss the status of women in pre-Incan societies.    Purpose of Paragraph 2 : To present some scholars' view that Incan conquest led to a lessening of women's status.    Purpose of Paragraph 3 : To provide evidence that in Incan society, women had "considerable status."

Reflecting on the purpose of each paragraph will help us to grasp the purpose of the passage overall. It looks like the purpose of the first paragraph is to prepare us for the idea that the Incan conquest lessened women's status, which is presented in paragraph two. And the purpose of the third paragraph is to present evidence contrary to this idea.

By following the flow of logic, notice that the  ultimate  purpose is to present evidence contrary to the view that the Incan conquest lessened women's status.

Let's now consider (C):

It's true that the author doesn't have an explicitly "questioning" tone. Still, the bigger picture logic of each paragraph makes the author's intent clear -- to present evidence contrary to certain scholars' views on the effects of the Incan conquest on women. While the author doesn't  explicitly  state this intent, we can figure it out by staying focused on purpose and big picture of each paragraph.

For that reasons, (C) is correct.

I hope that helps!

In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive

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In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive

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