Traditional sources of evidence about ancient history are archaeologic

Question

Traditional sources of evidence about ancient
history are archaeological remains and surviving texts.
Those investigating the crafts practiced by women in
ancient times, however, often derive little information
  (5)   from these sources, and the archaeological record is
particularly unavailing for the study of ancient textile
production, as researchers are thwarted by the
perishable nature of cloth. What shreds persisted
through millennia were, until recently, often discarded
  (10)   by excavators as useless, as were loom weights, 
which appeared to be nothing more than blobs of clay.
Ancient texts, meanwhile, rarely mention the creation
of textiles; moreover, those references that do exist use
archaic, unrevealing terminology. Yet despite these
  (15)   obstacles, researchers have learned a great deal about
ancient textiles and those who made them, and also
about how to piece together a whole picture from many
disparate sources of evidence.

Technological advances in the analysis of
  (20)   archaeological remains provide much more 
information than was previously available, especially about 
minute remains. Successful modern methods include
radiocarbon dating, infrared photography for seeing
through dirt without removing it, isotope
  (25)   “fingerprinting” for tracing sources of raw materials,
and thin-layer chromatography for analyzing dyes. As
if in preparation for such advances, the field of
archaeology has also undergone an important
philosophical revolution in the past century. Once little
  (30)   more than a self-serving quest for artifacts to stock
museums and private collections, the field has
transformed itself into a scientific pursuit of knowledge
about past cultures. As part of this process,
archaeologists adopted the fundamental precept of
  (35)   preserving all objects, even those that have no
immediately discernible value. Thus in the 1970s two
researchers found the oldest known complete garment,
a 5,000-year-old linen shirt, among a tumbled heap of
dirty linens that had been preserved as part of the well
  (40)   known Petrie collection decades before anyone began
to study the history of textiles.

The history of textiles and of the craftswomen who
produced them has also advanced on a different front:
recreating the actual production of cloth.
  (45)   Reconstructing and implementing ancient production
methods provides a valuable way of generating and
checking hypotheses. For example, these techniques
made it possible to confirm that the excavated pieces of
clay once considered useless in fact functioned as loom
  (50)   weights. Similarly, scholars have until recently been
obliged to speculate as to which one of two statues of
Athena, one large and one small, was adorned with a
dress created by a group of Athenian women for a
festival, as described in surviving texts. Because
  (55)   records show that it took nine months to produce the
dress, scholars assumed it must have adorned the large
statue. But by investigating the methods of production
and the size of the looms used, researchers have
ascertained that in fact a dress for the small statue
  (60)   would have taken nine months to produce.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Archaeology is an expanding discipline that has transformed itself in response both to scientific advances and to changing cultural demands such as a recently increasing interest in women’s history.
(B) A diversity of new approaches to the study of ancient textiles has enabled researchers to infer much about the history of textiles and their creators in the ancient world from the scant evidence that remains.
(C) Despite many obstacles, research into the textile production methods used by women in the ancient world has advanced over the past century to the point that archaeologists can now replicate ancient equipment and production techniques.
(D) Research into the history of textiles has spurred sweeping changes in the field of archaeology, from the application of advanced technology to the revaluation of ancient artifacts that were once deemed useless.
(E) Though researchers have verified certain theories about the history of textiles by using technological developments such as radiocarbon dating, most significant findings in this field have grown out of the reconstruction of ancient production techniques.

2 
 2. The author’s attitude concerning the history of ancient textile production can most accurately be described as

(A) skeptical regarding the validity of some of the new hypotheses proposed by researchers
(B) doubtful that any additional useful knowledge can be generated given the nature of the evidence available
(C) impatient about the pace of research in light of the resources available
(D) optimistic that recent scholarly advances will attract increasing numbers of researchers
(E) satisfied that considerable progress is being made in this field

3 
 3. The passage indicates that the re-creation of ancient techniques was used in which one of the following?

(A) investigating the meanings of certain previously unintelligible technical terms in ancient texts
(B) tracing the sources of raw materials used in the production of certain fabrics
(C) constructing certain public museum displays concerning cloth-making
(D) verifying that a particular 5,000-year-old clothmwas indeed a shirt
(E) exploring the issue of which of two statues of Athena was clothed with a particular garment

4 
 4. The author intends the term “traditional sources” (line 1) to exclude which one of the following?

(A) ancient clay objects that cannot be identified as pieces of pottery by the researchers who unearth them
(B) historically significant pieces of cloth discovered in the course of an excavation
(C) the oldest known complete garment, which was found among other pieces of cloth in a collection
(D) re-creations of looms from which inferences about ancient weaving techniques can be made
(E) ancient accounts of the adornment of a statue of Athena with a dress made by Athenian women

5 
 5. The passage as a whole functions primarily as

(A) a defense of the controversial methods adopted by certain researchers in a particular discipline
(B) a set of recommendations to guide future activities in a particular field of inquiry
(C) an account of how a particular branch of research has successfully coped with certain difficulties
(D) a rejection of some commonly held views about the methodologies of a certain discipline
(E) a summary of the hypotheses advanced by researchers who have used innovative methods of investigation

6 
 6. According to the passage, which one of the following was an element in the transformation of archaeology in the past c entury?

(A) an increased interest in the crafts practiced in the ancient world
(B) some archaeologists’ adoption of textile conservation experts’ preservation techniques
(C) innovative methods of restoring damaged artifacts
(D) the discovery of the oldest known complete garment
(E) archaeologists’ policy of not discarding ancient objects that have no readily identifiable value

7 
 7. Which one of the following most accurately describes the function of the first paragraph in relation to the rest of the passage?

(A) A particularly difficult archaeological problem is described in order to underscore the significance of new methods used to resolve that problem, which are described in the following paragraphs.
(B) A previously neglected body of archaeological evidence is described in order to cast doubt on received views regarding ancient cultures developed from conventional sources of evidence, as described in the following paragraphs.
(C) The fruitfulness of new technologically based methods of analysis is described in order to support the subsequent argument that apparently insignificant archaeological remains ought to be preserved for possible future research.
(D) The findings of recent archaeological research are outlined as the foundation for a claim advanced in the following paragraphs that the role of women in ancient cultures has been underestimated by archaeologists.
(E) A recently developed branch of archaeological research is described as evidence for the subsequent argument that other, more established branches of archaeology should take advantage of new technologies in their research.

Nirmesh83 · Answer

1.B
2.E
3.E
4.A
5.C
6.E
7.A

bhavyasetia · Answer

Why is option E wrong for ques 5?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Answer  option (E)  covers only a small portion of the passage.

It would be wise to approach this question like you would a Main Point question: what was the author's primary goal/purpose in this passage?

The main point of the passage (the Most Valuable Sentence, I think), is  lines 14-18.

Like most passages, this one begins with background info and then uses a but/yet/however/recently to pivot into the primary focus.

So  lines 14-18  give us the wording for our main point,

(E) there aren't many (or any?) hypotheses, other than maybe the small statue one at the end. On the other hand look at  option (C)

(C) "an account" = descriptive. The first paragraph explained the background of the difficulties facing archeologists looking to study textiles/women's contributions. The rest of the passage explains the ways in which researchers are working around those problems.

yashsingh1107 · Answer

In question 1 why is option b more appropriate than option d?

MKaizer123 · Answer

Can someone explain  Sajjad1994  the logic in ruling out A in Q1; was stuck between A and B but went with A. Thanks in advance.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

The main point of the passage is a bit broader than just establishing that researchers can now replicate the production methods used by the ancient world. The passage tells about how scientists used such knowledge to learn about the ancient world. Answer  choice (B)  correctly describes the use of this knowledge by the researchers to learn about the ancient world.

Choice (D)  is wrong because it distorts the relationship between research on textiles and changes in the field of archaeology. Research on textiles didn't cause the field of archaeology to change.

This answer choice preys on readers who misread  lines 27-29  which state  As if in preparation for such advances, the field of archaeology has also undergone an important philosophical revolution in the past century.  The passage isn't saying that research on textiles led to the changes in the field of archaeology but that they coincided with each other at a convenient time.

prakharpandey2102 · Answer

Question 4

How did we arrive at option "A" in question 4? I selected "C". And I think the OA is "D"!

Please correct me if I am wrong. Nevertheless, I still can't understand why "D" is the correct choice.

I'm not very clear about the question as well.

Sajjad1994  Can you please explain this question and the correct choice? Also why "C" would be incorrect?

Thanks in advance!

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Read the lines 5 and 44-45:

"Traditional sources of evidence"  would include anything that had been used as evidence, even if the conclusions had been erroneous! Thus, even though the pieces of clay were discarded or misidentified, they did indeed represent a  "source of evidence,"  just one that had been ignored because of its apparent lack of archaeological value.

We can pull this information from right around line 45 in the passage. There, the passage discusses recreating the production of textiles. They give a specific example of learning about the loom weights as they built a recreation. They were also able to learn about the textiles used to decorate statues. This is directly discussed in the passage, but it is not one of the traditional methods referred to at the beginning of the passage.

prakharpandey2102 · Answer

Understood. Thanks a lot Sajjad1994

Ayushparekh18 · Answer

Can anyone explain why option B is incorrect for Q-7?

AvinashSh · Answer

Please explain Question 1. Why is D wrong?

kumaraniket · Answer

can somebody please explain , for Q1 why D is wrong and why B is Correct ?.
In the Passage it is mentioned as  Yet despite these
(15) obstacles, researchers have learned a great deal about
ancient textiles and those who made them, and also
about how to piece together a whole picture from many
disparate sources of evidence.
passage mentions many disparate evidences but in the option b it's scant evidences..
can somebody help me on this ?

navigator01 · Answer

There is no discussion on " received views regarding ancient cultures  " and even in athena example it was about statue not culture, thats what I think.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 1 
 
Here's a chunk of the passage that might help:
 
This portion of the passage tells us that the philosophical revolution occurred BEFORE the technology advances ("as if  in preparation  for such advances"). Because of the philosophical revolution, "archaeologists adopted the fundamental precept of preserving all objects, even those that have no immediately discernible value."

That focus on preserving all objects, along with the technological advances, has allowed researches to learn a great deal about ancient textiles and those who made them. (D) has it backwards: the research into the history of textiles did not spur those changes; instead, the changes spurred advancement in the research.

So (B) is a better fit.

I hope that helps!

ReetArora · Answer

In question 3 , how is Option E correct, which of the two statue was not the concern, instead the tenure 9 months was. 
Please explain this

Sajjad1994

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi ReetArora

Read the following lines from the passage:

"scholars have until recently been obliged to speculate as to which one of two statues of Athena, one large and one small, was adorned with a dress created by a group of Athenian women for a festival, as described in surviving texts. Because records show that it took nine months to produce the dress, scholars assumed it must have adorned the large statue. But by investigating the methods of production and the size of the looms used, researchers have ascertained that in fact a dress for the small statue would have taken nine months to produce."

This directly shows that re-creating ancient textile production techniques (methods of production and loom sizes) helped determine which statue wore the dress, the small one, contrary to earlier assumptions. Hence (e) is correct.

Traditional sources of evidence about ancient history are archaeologic

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Traditional sources of evidence about ancient history are archaeologic

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