Official Solution:
The ancient cliff dwellings of the ancient Puebloans in the southwestern United States may have been constructed much more quickly than within the 150-year span previously supposed by scientists, significantly altering researchers' understanding of societal development in Native American cultures. Pueblo oral histories hold that during the mid-13th century, a tribal leader named White Shell Woman organized a coordinated movement of communities into cliff dwellings for protection and resource management. But archaeologists had been unable to scientifically confirm this rapid transition, in part because of limitations with traditional pottery dating methods.
Recently, researchers, knowing that tree rings form annual growth patterns, applied dendrochronology to wooden support beams collected from various cliff dwelling sites. The technique measures both early and late wood formation within each ring, providing precise annual markers of when trees were harvested for construction. Dates from the samples that best reflect cutting time—those with bark still present—ranged from 1248 to 1265 CE, suggesting there was intensive cliff dwelling construction during that period. Because, the researchers argue, these structures served as centers for food storage and resource distribution, the rapid construction likely indicates a significant shift in community organization.
The events described by Pueblo oral histories agree with these new dates, and the cliff dwellings provide tangible archaeological evidence that this sociopolitical shift happened within a single generation of Ancestral Puebloans. This compressed timeline suggests that environmental pressures and increased regional conflict accelerated the need for protective structures far more quickly than previously thought.
Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?A. The wooden beams used in cliff dwelling construction were cut and used immediately after being harvested.
B. The presence of bark on the beams indicates that the trees were harvested during the late growth season.
C. The analysis of early and late wood formation helps researchers determine the year the trees were cut.
D. Researchers were able to determine the specific locations where the trees used in the cliff dwellings were felled.
E. Only the outermost rings of the wooden beams provide accurate information about the year the trees were harvested.
A) Incorrect. The passage indicates that beams with bark still attached “best reflect cutting time,” suggesting that construction followed the harvest fairly soon. However, the word “immediately” overstates the evidence, since no exact interval between cutting and use is specified.
B) Incorrect. Nothing in the passage ties bark preservation to the late growth season. The study does not mention the season of harvest, so this inference lacks support.
C) Correct. The text states that the technique “measures both early and late wood formation within each ring, providing precise annual markers of when trees were harvested.” Using early and late wood to pin down the cutting year is explicitly described, making this inference fully supported.
D) Incorrect. Researchers dated when the trees were cut but offered no information about where the trees grew or were felled. Locational details lie outside the passage.
E) Incorrect. While the outermost ring with bark gives the exact harvest year, the researchers also analyze early and late wood within that ring. Saying “only the outermost rings” provide accurate information ignores these additional data points and misrepresents the method.
Answer: C