Examining whether ancient burial practices in Mediterranean civilizations reflected widespread _____ specific religious doctrines, archaeologist Maria...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Examining whether ancient burial practices in Mediterranean civilizations reflected widespread _____ specific religious doctrines, archaeologist Maria Santos discovered that many funeral rituals actually developed from local customs rather than systematic theological influence.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
adherence to
conflicts over
documentation of
abandonment of
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Examining whether ancient burial practices in Mediterranean civilizations reflected widespread" |
|
| "_____ specific religious doctrines," |
|
| "archaeologist Maria Santos discovered that many funeral rituals actually developed from local customs rather than systematic theological influence." |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements:
Main Point: Archaeological research revealed that Mediterranean burial practices originated from local customs rather than systematic religious doctrine.
Argument Flow: Santos investigated whether burial practices showed a particular relationship to religious doctrines. Her findings revealed that practices actually developed from local customs instead of systematic theological influence, creating a contrast with the expected religious connection.
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 blank needs to describe what type of relationship Santos was examining between burial practices and religious doctrines
- The crucial clue is the contrast created by "rather than systematic theological influence" - this tells us the practices did NOT come from religious sources but from local customs instead
- Since there's a contrast, Santos must have been examining whether practices showed some kind of positive connection or following of religious doctrines
- The contrast reveals they actually didn't show this expected religious relationship
- So the right answer should describe a positive relationship to religious doctrines - something like following, conforming to, or adhering to specific religious teachings
adherence to
adherence to
✓ Correct
- Creates logical meaning: examining whether practices reflected widespread adherence to religious doctrines
- Perfect contrast with finding that rituals came from local customs rather than systematic religious influence
- "Adherence to" suggests following or conforming to doctrines, which makes the local customs discovery meaningful and contrastive
conflicts over
conflicts over
✗ Incorrect
- Would mean Santos examined whether practices reflected widespread conflicts over religious doctrines
- Doesn't create logical contrast with the local customs finding
- The research conclusion about local customs doesn't address religious conflicts
documentation of
documentation of
✗ Incorrect
- Would mean examining whether practices reflected widespread documentation of religious doctrines
- Creates illogical meaning - burial practices don't "reflect documentation"
- No clear relationship to the contrast between local customs and religious influence
abandonment of
abandonment of
✗ Incorrect
- Would mean examining whether practices reflected widespread abandonment of religious doctrines
- Wrong logical relationship - if practices had abandoned doctrines, the local customs finding wouldn't be surprising or contrastive