In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in

Question

In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in considerable quantities, but after 2900 B.C., production of that grain began to decline as the production of barley increased sharply. Some historians who study ancient Mesopotamia contend that the decline in wheat production was due to excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and the consequent accumulation of salt residues in the soil.

Which one of the following, if true, most help to support the historian's contention concerning the reasons for the decline in wheat production in ancient Mesopotamia?

A. The cultivation of barely requires considerably less water than does the cultivation of wheat.

B. Barly has much greater resistance to the presence of salt in soil than does wheat.

C. Prior to 2900 B.C., barly was cultivated along with wheat, but the amount of barely produced was far less than the amount of wheat blights.

D. Around 2900 B.C., a series of wheat blights occurred, destroying much of the wheat crop year after year.

E. Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that in the period following 2900B.C., barely became the principal grain in the diet of most of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia.

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Rabab36 · Answer

imo 
option A is strengthener
since barley use required less water less problem of drainage and less accumulation of salt, its production was not harmed

in comparison to extensive irrigation may responsible for decline in production of grain

bv8562 · Answer

IMO it should be B because it shows that everything remained same for both Barley and Wheat, but since Barley has much greater resistance to salt the presence of salt in soil than does wheat, therefore, the production of Wheat declined whereas that of Barley increased.

GMATking94 · Answer

Hi  Bunuel

Nice trick question. You have to be quite literal with the options.

option (B) is the correct answer choice.

option (A) looks tempting "The cultivation of barely requires considerably less water than does the cultivation of wheat"...but that does not add any info why to change from wheat to barly. After all irrigation/water was not an issue but rather their excessive use led to excessive salts deposition that wheat crops can survive on.

Adit_ · Answer

Option C does not make sense to me. Does it mean amount of barley produced was far less that amount of wheat "produced"? How can a comparison be drawn between amount of barley produced and amount of wheat blights?

Bunuel Kindly look into it.

Bunuel  Kindly look into it.

guddo · Answer

In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in considerable quantities, but after 2900 B.C., production of that grain began to decline as the production of barley increased sharply. Some historians who study ancient Mesopotamia contend that the decline in wheat production was due to excessive irrigation, lack of drainage, and the consequent accumulation of salt residues in the soil.
 
 Which one of the following, if true, most help to support the historians' contention concerning the reasons for the decline in wheat production in ancient Mesopotamia?

The historians’ idea is that irrigation without drainage caused soil salinity to rise, which hurt wheat. The best support would show that salty soil would reduce wheat production and also explain why barley increased at the same time.

A. The cultivation of barley requires considerably less water than does the cultivation of wheat.

This is not the key link. The claim is about salt buildup from irrigation, not simply water use differences.

B. Barley has much greater resistance to the presence of salt in soil than does wheat.

This directly supports the explanation.  If soil became saltier after 2900 B.C., wheat would decline while  barley could still grow , explaining both the wheat drop and barley rise.

C. Prior to 2900 B.C., barley was cultivated along with wheat, but the amount of barley produced was far less than the amount of wheat.

This just restates the earlier pattern and does not connect the change to salt buildup.

D. Around 2900 B.C., a series of wheat blights occurred, destroying much of the wheat crop year after year.

This gives an alternative cause, which would weaken the historians’ salt explanation.

E. Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that after 2900 B.C., barley became the principal grain in the diet of most inhabitants.

This describes the shift, but it does not explain why it happened.

Answer: (B)

guddo · Answer

Yes, I think, you’re reading it correctly: (C) is badly written. “Wheat blights” makes no sense as the second thing in the comparison. It should almost certainly be “wheat” or “wheat produced.”

So interpret (C) as: barley was grown before 2900 B.C., but in much smaller quantity than wheat. That fact is  not  evidence for the salt explanation, it is just background about what they used to grow.  It doesn’t link the decline to salt.

In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in

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In ancient Mesopotamia, prior to 2900 B.C., wheat was cultivated in

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