Most scholarship regarding the sudden disappearance of the Olmec civilization 2,500 years ago has focused on the change in meteorological conditions favorable to subsistence crops. Much of this research, though, has overlooked the role that changing geography, most notably the course of rivers, played. The Coatzacoalcos River, the main river passing through La Venta, could have had notable tributaries diverted as a result of climate change, leading not only to severe flooding in certain areas, but also to a lack of sufficient water for subsistence crops planted near the erstwhile alluvial plain. Such a view, however, fails to account for the resilience of a people capable of transferring crops and moving settlements as need be. What was more likely responsible for the downfall of the Olmec civilization was internal dissent brought on by ecological change, since a leadership unable to control events was likely to be perceived as weak. Without the central governance needed to adapt crop subsistence patterns, the Olmec likely became a collection of feuding clans and within a few generations all but disappeared.

Which of the following, if true, would best undermine the theory the author of the passage provides for the sudden disappearance of the Olmec?

A. Much of the flooding that resulted came not from any diverted tributaries but by rainfall that intensified over the course of a decade.
B. Not all the major subsistence crops were planted along the Coatzacoalcos River.
C. Internal dissent was long offered as a theory for the disappearance of the Mayans, but in recent years there is near unanimous agreement that the disappearance was mostly caused by a meteorological phenomenon.
D. The Olmec split into two groups that warred persistently for several decades before both succumbed to meteorological changes that made settlement of the area virtually impossible.
E. The Olmec leadership successfully relocated settlements near one of the new tributaries of Coatzacoalcos, yet years of constant flooding precluded the growth of subsistence crops.



Which of the following best describes the primary function of the third sentence (“ The Coatzacoalcos . . . plain”)?

A. To call into question information mentioned in the sentence that immediately precedes it
B. To introduce the role meteorological conditions played in the change in crop subsistence patterns
C. To highlight evidence offered up by most scholarship on the disappearance of the Olmec
D. To provide a specific example supporting a hypothesis that differs from that mentioned in the first sentence
E. To indicate how major geographical changes affected the Olmec’s ability to govern effectively



For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

Which of the following is an assumption the author of the passage makes?

A. The crops displaced by the flooding of the Coatzacoalcos River would not be viable if replanted in areas unaffected by flooding.
B. Adapting crop subsistence involves some level of central governance.
C. Feuding clans are not capable of sustaining a viable population in the wake of ecological catastrophe.