Archaeological teams investigating prehistoric nomadic societies often encounter difficulties reconstructing ancient social structures, with most rese...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Archaeological teams investigating prehistoric nomadic societies often encounter difficulties reconstructing ancient social structures, with most researchers focusing their analyses on permanent settlements that provide substantial material evidence. Dr. James Chen and other specialists in mobile cultures, however, have identified sophisticated organizational systems among hunter-gatherer groups that left minimal physical traces. This divergence in findings can be attributed to the fact that conventional archaeological methods prioritize durable artifacts and architectural remains—precisely the types of evidence that nomadic peoples rarely produced.
Which statement about Chen and other specialists in mobile cultures is best supported by information in the text?
They likely interpret organizational complexity differently than conventional archaeological teams do.
They likely disagree with other researchers about the sophistication of hunter-gatherer societies.
They likely utilize different methodological approaches than researchers typically investigating prehistoric societies employ.
They likely focus on different time periods than conventional archaeological teams do.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Archaeological teams investigating prehistoric nomadic societies often encounter difficulties reconstructing ancient social structures' |
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| 'with most researchers focusing their analyses on permanent settlements that provide substantial material evidence.' |
|
| 'Dr. James Chen and other specialists in mobile cultures, however, have identified sophisticated organizational systems among hunter-gatherer groups that left minimal physical traces.' |
|
| 'This divergence in findings can be attributed to the fact that conventional archaeological methods prioritize durable artifacts and architectural remains—precisely the types of evidence that nomadic peoples rarely produced.' |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: While most archaeological researchers struggle to understand nomadic societies because they focus on permanent settlements, specialists like Dr. Chen have successfully identified sophisticated organizational systems by using approaches suited to groups that leave minimal physical traces.
Argument Flow: The passage starts with a general problem in archaeology, explains what most researchers typically do, presents contrasting successful findings from specialists, and concludes by explaining why these different approaches yield different results.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The key insight from our analysis is that Chen and his colleagues achieved different results than most researchers
- The passage tells us most researchers focus on permanent settlements with substantial material evidence, while Chen's group identified sophisticated systems in groups that left 'minimal physical traces'
- The passage explains this divergence exists because conventional methods prioritize durable artifacts and architecture—exactly what nomadic peoples rarely produced
- So the right answer should reflect that Chen and other mobile culture specialists must be doing something methodologically different from conventional archaeological approaches, since they're successfully studying groups that conventional methods can't handle well
They likely interpret organizational complexity differently than conventional archaeological teams do.
- This suggests they interpret the same evidence differently, but the passage indicates they're working with fundamentally different types of evidence
- The passage shows Chen's group found sophistication where others found difficulty, but this stems from methodological differences, not interpretive ones
They likely disagree with other researchers about the sophistication of hunter-gatherer societies.
- The passage doesn't present any disagreement about sophistication levels
- Chen's group identified sophisticated systems, but there's no indication other researchers dispute this—they simply haven't found such systems
- Trap: Students might think 'different findings' means 'disagreement,' but the passage presents methodological limitations, not scholarly debate
They likely utilize different methodological approaches than researchers typically investigating prehistoric societies employ.
- The passage explicitly states that conventional methods 'prioritize durable artifacts and architectural remains'
- Chen's group successfully studied groups that 'left minimal physical traces'—the opposite of what conventional methods seek
- This directly supports that they must use different methodological approaches to achieve their successful results
They likely focus on different time periods than conventional archaeological teams do.
- Nothing in the passage suggests different time periods are the focus
- Both conventional researchers and Chen's group study 'prehistoric' societies
- The distinction is about settlement types (permanent vs. nomadic), not time periods