Text 1Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche people. These mold-made...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche people. These mold-made sculptures present plants, animals, and human faces in precise ways—vessels representing human faces are so detailed that scholars have interpreted facial markings to represent scars and other skin irregularities. Some historians have even used these objects to identify potential skin diseases that may have afflicted people at the time.
Text 2
Art historian and archaeologist Lisa Trever has argued that the interpretation of Moche 'portrait' vessels as hyper-realistic portrayals of identifiable people may inadvertently disregard the creativity of the objects' creators. Moche ceramic vessels, Trever argues, are artworks in which sculptors could free their imagination, using realistic objects and people around them as inspiration to explore more abstract concepts.
Based on the texts, what would Lisa Trever (Text 2) most likely say about the interpretation presented in the underlined portion of Text 1?
Depictions of human faces are significantly more realistic than depictions of plants and other animals are.
It is likely that some depictions of human faces with extensive markings are intended to portray the same historical individual.
Some vessels may have been damaged during their excavation and thus provide little insight into Moche culture.
Markings on depictions of human faces are not necessarily intended to portray particular details about the physical appearance of individuals.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche people." |
|
| "These mold-made sculptures present plants, animals, and human faces in precise ways—vessels representing human faces are so detailed that scholars have interpreted facial markings to represent scars and other skin irregularities." |
|
| "Some historians have even used these objects to identify potential skin diseases that may have afflicted people at the time." |
|
| "Art historian and archaeologist Lisa Trever has argued that the interpretation of Moche 'portrait' vessels as hyper-realistic portrayals of identifiable people may inadvertently disregard the creativity of the objects' creators." |
|
| "Moche ceramic vessels, Trever argues, are artworks in which sculptors could free their imagination, using realistic objects and people around them as inspiration to explore more abstract concepts." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: There are two competing interpretations of Moche ceramic vessels—historians see them as realistic historical documents, while Lisa Trever argues they should be understood as creative artworks.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to determine what Lisa Trever would most likely say about the specific interpretation mentioned in the underlined portion of Text 1.
What type of answer do we need? Trever's likely response/critique of how Text 1 scholars interpret facial markings as scars and skin irregularities.
Any limiting keywords? None specified.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Trever believes that interpreting these vessels as hyper-realistic portrayals misses their creative and artistic purpose
- She argues that sculptors used realistic elements as inspiration to explore abstract concepts, not to create literal documentation
- The underlined portion deals with scholars interpreting facial markings as actual scars and skin irregularities
- Trever would likely argue that these markings might serve artistic or abstract purposes rather than being literal representations of specific physical features
Depictions of human faces are significantly more realistic than depictions of plants and other animals are.
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses on comparing realism between faces vs. plants/animals
- Trever's argument isn't about which depictions are more realistic—she questions the entire premise of treating any of these as purely realistic portrayals
It is likely that some depictions of human faces with extensive markings are intended to portray the same historical individual.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests vessels with similar markings might portray the same person
- This actually supports the Text 1 interpretation that vessels are realistic portraits of identifiable individuals, contradicting Trever's challenge
Some vessels may have been damaged during their excavation and thus provide little insight into Moche culture.
✗ Incorrect
- About excavation damage affecting cultural insights
- This is unrelated to Trever's argument about artistic interpretation vs. realistic documentation
Markings on depictions of human faces are not necessarily intended to portray particular details about the physical appearance of individuals.
✓ Correct
- States that markings aren't necessarily intended to show particular physical details about individuals
- This perfectly aligns with Trever's argument that sculptors used realistic inspiration to explore abstract concepts, not create literal documentation
- It directly challenges the Text 1 interpretation that markings represent actual scars and skin conditions