Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea. Indigenous people there started raising guinea pigs about 1,700 years ago....
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea. Indigenous people there started raising guinea pigs about 1,700 years ago. Guinea pigs had originally been domesticated much earlier in both Colombia and Peru. So were guinea pigs brought to Puerto Rico from Colombia or from Peru? Ancient Caribbean trade routes connected Puerto Rico with Colombia but not with Peru. Therefore, guinea pigs in Puerto Rico probably came from Colombia and descended from Colombian guinea pigs.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the underlined claim?
Ancient guinea pigs in Puerto Rico were genetically less similar to ancient guinea pigs in Colombia than to ancient guinea pigs in Peru.
Guinea pigs are common in ancient Puerto Rican art, especially in pottery.
Modern breeds of guinea pigs don't look like images of guinea pigs in ancient art from Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Peru.
The guinea pig population of ancient Colombia was much larger than the guinea pig population of ancient Peru.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea.' |
|
| 'Indigenous people there started raising guinea pigs about 1,700 years ago.' |
|
| 'Guinea pigs had originally been domesticated much earlier in both Colombia and Peru.' |
|
| 'So were guinea pigs brought to Puerto Rico from Colombia or from Peru?' |
|
| 'Ancient Caribbean trade routes connected Puerto Rico with Colombia but not with Peru.' |
|
| 'Therefore, guinea pigs in Puerto Rico probably came from Colombia and descended from Colombian guinea pigs.' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Guinea pigs in Puerto Rico most likely originated from Colombia rather than Peru because ancient trade routes connected Puerto Rico to Colombia but not to Peru.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that Puerto Rico had guinea pigs starting 1,700 years ago, notes that both Colombia and Peru had domesticated guinea pigs earlier, then uses trade route evidence to argue that Colombia was the more probable source since it had direct trade connections with Puerto Rico.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? We need to find evidence that would most directly weaken the underlined claim that guinea pigs in Puerto Rico came from Colombia.
What type of answer do we need? A finding or piece of evidence that contradicts or undermines the conclusion about Colombian origin.
Any limiting keywords? 'Most directly weaken' means we want the strongest counter-evidence, and 'the underlined claim' specifically targets the conclusion about Colombian origin and descent.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The current argument relies on trade routes to conclude that guinea pigs came from Colombia
- To weaken this claim most directly, we'd need evidence that either:
- Shows the guinea pigs actually came from Peru instead
- Demonstrates that trade routes weren't the determining factor
- Provides stronger evidence pointing to Peruvian origin
- The most powerful counter-evidence would be something like genetic or biological data showing the Puerto Rican guinea pigs were more closely related to Peruvian rather than Colombian guinea pigs
- This would directly contradict the conclusion regardless of trade route connections
- The right answer should provide concrete evidence that the guinea pigs were more likely from Peru than Colombia, overriding the trade route argument
Ancient guinea pigs in Puerto Rico were genetically less similar to ancient guinea pigs in Colombia than to ancient guinea pigs in Peru.
- This provides genetic evidence showing Puerto Rican guinea pigs were more similar to Peruvian than Colombian guinea pigs
- Genetic similarity is strong biological evidence of ancestry and origin
- Directly contradicts the claim that they 'descended from Colombian guinea pigs'
- This evidence would override the trade route argument since genetic relationships are more definitive than transportation possibilities
Guinea pigs are common in ancient Puerto Rican art, especially in pottery.
- This tells us guinea pigs were common and important in Puerto Rican culture
- Doesn't address the question of origin - they could still have come from either Colombia or Peru
- Simply confirms guinea pigs were present, which we already knew
Modern breeds of guinea pigs don't look like images of guinea pigs in ancient art from Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Peru.
- This is about differences between modern and ancient guinea pigs across all three locations
- Doesn't help determine whether ancient Puerto Rican guinea pigs came from Colombia or Peru
- The comparison is temporal (modern vs. ancient) rather than geographic (Colombia vs. Peru)
The guinea pig population of ancient Colombia was much larger than the guinea pig population of ancient Peru.
- This actually supports rather than weakens the Colombian origin theory
- A larger Colombian population could be seen as making Colombia a more likely source
- What trap this represents: Students might think 'larger population' means something was wrong with the argument, but it actually strengthens the case for Colombian origin