Text 1An excavation in Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico has upended the belief that approximately 13,000 years ago, a group...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
An excavation in Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico has upended the belief that approximately 13,000 years ago, a group known as the Clovis people were the first human inhabitants of North America. More than 200 crude stone tools were found embedded in a layer of earth that is up to 33,150 years old, revealing that humans occupied the cave thousands of years before the Clovis people reached the continent.
Text 2
The objects uncovered in Chiquihuite Cave are intriguing, but it is premature to characterize them as tools. The stone pieces are so roughly shaped that they may have simply fractured from rocks during natural geological activity in the cave. Moreover, their unearthing has thus far not been accompanied by discoveries of other signs of human activity or even traces of human DNA from surfaces.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
By suggesting that it draws a plausible connection between two groups of people but will need to be confirmed with further study
By asserting that it rests on an assumption about the stone pieces that is not sufficiently supported by available evidence
By acknowledging that it will most likely be proved correct when the stone pieces undergo more detailed analysis
By pointing out that it fails to account for evidence that the Clovis people were active on the continent as early as is commonly thought
Looking at this Cross-Text Connections question, I need to determine how the author of Text 2 would respond to Text 1's claim about the stone tools. Let me work through this systematically.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: "An excavation in Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico has upended the belief that approximately 13,000 years ago, a group known as the Clovis people were the first human inhabitants of North America." |
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| "More than 200 crude stone tools were found embedded in a layer of earth that is up to 33,150 years old, revealing that humans occupied the cave thousands of years before the Clovis people reached the continent." |
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| Text 2: "The objects uncovered in Chiquihuite Cave are intriguing, but it is premature to characterize them as tools." |
|
| "The stone pieces are so roughly shaped that they may have simply fractured from rocks during natural geological activity in the cave." |
|
| "Moreover, their unearthing has thus far not been accompanied by discoveries of other signs of human activity or even traces of human DNA from surfaces." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Text 1 argues that stone tools found in Mexico prove humans were in North America before the Clovis people, while Text 2 questions whether these objects are actually tools at all.
Argument Flow: Text 1 presents a discovery that challenges established beliefs about when humans first reached North America. Text 2 responds with skepticism, arguing that the stone pieces might not be human-made tools and pointing to the lack of supporting evidence for human presence.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? How would the author of Text 2 respond to the underlined claim in Text 1?
What type of answer do we need? We need to identify what Text 2's author would say about Text 1's specific claim about the stone tools proving human occupation.
Any limiting keywords? None specified.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Text 2's author is fundamentally questioning Text 1's interpretation
- The key issue is that Text 1 assumes these stone pieces are tools made by humans, but Text 2 thinks this assumption is not justified
- Text 2's author would point out that calling them tools assumes they were made by humans
- There is insufficient evidence to support this assumption
- They could be natural formations instead
- No other evidence supports human presence
By suggesting that it draws a plausible connection between two groups of people but will need to be confirmed with further study
✗ Incorrect
This suggests Text 2's author sees the connection as plausible and just needing confirmation.
- Text 2's author does not think the connection is plausible at all - they think the stone pieces might not even be human-made
By asserting that it rests on an assumption about the stone pieces that is not sufficiently supported by available evidence
✓ Correct
This captures exactly what Text 2's author argues: that Text 1 assumes the stone pieces are tools, but this assumption lacks sufficient evidence.
- Matches how Text 2 says it is premature to characterize them as tools and offers natural explanations instead
By acknowledging that it will most likely be proved correct when the stone pieces undergo more detailed analysis
✗ Incorrect
This suggests Text 2's author thinks the claim will most likely be proved correct.
- Text 2's author is skeptical and offers alternative explanations - they do not expect it to be proved correct
By pointing out that it fails to account for evidence that the Clovis people were active on the continent as early as is commonly thought
✗ Incorrect
This focuses on evidence about Clovis people being active earlier than thought.
- Text 2 does not discuss the Clovis timeline at all - the focus is entirely on whether the stone pieces are human-made tools