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Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ideas, giving rise to new theories. Recently, a set of 3.3-million- year-old fossils, the remains of the earliest well-preserved child ever found, were discovered in Ethiopia. Estimated to be 3 years old at death, the female child was of the Australopithecus afarensis species, a human ancestor that lived in Africa over 3 million years ago. “Her completeness, antiquity, and age at death make this find of unprecedented importance in the history of paleo- anthropology,” said Zeresenay Alemseged, a noted paleo-anthropologist, opining that the discovery could reconfigure conceptions about early humans’ capacities.
Previously, afarensis was believed to have abandoned arboreal habitats. However, while the new fossil's lower limbs support the view of an upright stance, its gorilla-like arms suggest that afarensis was still able to swing through trees, initiating a reexamination of long-held theories of early human development. Also, the presence of a hyoid bone, a rarely preserved larynx bone that supports throat muscles, has dramatically affected concepts of the origin of speech. Although primitive and more ape- like than human-like, this fossil hyoid is the first found in such an early human-related species.
Question 1
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B
C
D
E
Question Stats:
42% (01:51) correct
58% (02:12) wrong based on 38 sessions
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The organization of the passage could best be described as
(A) discussing a controversial scientific discovery (B) contrasting previous theories of development with current findings (C) illustrating a contention with a specific example (D) arguing for the importance of a particular field of study (E) refuting a popular misconception
68% (00:40) correct
32% (01:06) wrong based on 41 sessions
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The passage quotes Zeresenay Alemseged in order to
(A) provide evidence to qualify the main idea of the first paragraph (B) question the claims of other scientists (C) provide evidence to support the linguistic abilities of the afarensis species (D) provide corroboration for the significance of the find (E) provide a subjective opinion that is refuted in the second paragraph
38% (01:29) correct
63% (00:59) wrong based on 40 sessions
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Each of the following is cited as a factor in the importance of the discovery of the fossils EXCEPT
(A) the fact that the remains were those of a child (B) the age of the fossils (C) the location of the discovery (D) the species of the fossils (E) the intact nature of the fossils
62% (01:05) correct
38% (01:27) wrong based on 34 sessions
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It can be inferred from the passage's description of the discovered fossil hyoid bone that
(A) Australopithecus afarensis was capable of speech (B) the discovered hyoid bone is less primitive than the hyoid bone of apes (C) the hyoid bone is necessary for speech (D) the discovery of the hyoid bone necessitated the reexamination of prior theories (E) the hyoid bone was the most important fossil found at the site
92% (01:09) correct
8% (00:51) wrong based on 37 sessions
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The impact of the discovery of the hyoid bone in the field of archaeology could best be compared to which one of the following examples in another field?
(A) The discovery and analysis of cosmic rays lend support to a widely accepted theory of the origin of the universe. (B) The original manuscript of a deceased 19th-century author confirms ideas of the development of an important work of literature. (C) The continued prosperity of a state-run economy stirs debate in the discipline of macroeconomics. (D) Newly revealed journal entries by a prominent Civil War-era politician lead to a questioning of certain accepted historical interpretations about the conflict. (E) Research into the mapping of the human genome gives rise to nascent applications of individually tailored medicines.
.......its gorilla-like arms suggest that afarensis was still able to swing through trees, initiating a reexamination of long-held theories of early human development.
Re: Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ide
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01 Nov 2017, 03:08
2
Expert Reply
Official Explanation
Quote:
On Except questions, it is often easier to eliminate incorrect answer choices until only one is left.
(A) The fourth sentence of the first paragraph cites a quotation from a noted paleo-anthropologist that the find of the child fossils was of unprecedented importance due to the child's age at death. Therefore, the fact that the remains were those of a child was of substantial significance. (B) The antiquity (a synonym for age) of the fossils is mentioned in the fourth sentence of the first paragraph as a reason why the fossils were an important discovery. (C) CORRECT. The location of the fossil discovery is mentioned in the first paragraph of the passage. However, the location is not provided as a reason why the fossils are significant. (D) This choice is tricky. The second paragraph describes what was previously believed about afarensis and that this evidence dramatically affected certain theories about the development of speech in humans. The fossils were of a human-related species, so the species itself was significant in influencing the theories about human speech. (E) The fourth sentence of the first paragraph notes that the find was important due its completeness. The intact nature of the fossils is another way of saying that the fossils are complete.
Re: Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ide
[#permalink]
03 Nov 2019, 20:38
2
shri wrote:
in question 3.. answer given is C but the location of discovery is mentioned as Ethiopia right?
The question asks about the the importance of the discovery of the fossils, If you look closely to this sentence " “Her completeness, antiquity, and age at death make this find of unprecedented importance in the history of paleo- anthropology,” Completeness tells that it was intact. Age of the fossil is also mentioned, that it was of a child is also mentioned, species is also mentioned .
The only not mentioned thing which makes the discovery of fossil important is loaction..
Re: Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ide
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24 Jun 2020, 06:53
1
Expert Reply
However, while the new fossil's lower limbs support the view of an upright stance, its gorilla-like arms suggest that afarensis was still able to swing through trees, initiating a reexamination of long-held theories of early human development.Also, the presence of a hyoid bone, a rarely preserved larynx bone that supports throat muscles, has dramatically affected concepts of the origin of speech.
Reexamination of previous theories....ALSO....the throat bone supports the idea of review.
The organization of the passage could best be described as
(A) discussing a controversial scientific discovery (B) contrasting previous theories of development with current findings (C) illustrating a contention with a specific example (D) arguing for the importance of a particular field of study (E) refuting a popular misconception
>> I mark this passage as neutral without the author's opinion. Thus i take option D as red flag as "arguing" means opinion Option E out of scope
A) As this discovery can instigate debate on long standing view thus we can take is as controversial
B) this is in 2nd paragraph : where few things or theories about afarensis like 1)they abandoned arboreal habitats , 2)concepts of the origin of speech has been challenged thus can we say that passage showing dissimilarities between previous theories of development with current findings , i am confused in this option choice. please check and correct my reasoning here, but there is also one thing even if this option choice is true it can't account for organization for the whole passage, thus we can eliminate it.
C) If we consider the 1st line as authors opinion (as contention means opinion) then we can say it is true, but it seems facts to me as we cant challenge it because the whole sentence is given in cause , effect form (clause , verbing(modifier)) thus it means it is true .
now i stuck between A and C
P.s If my writing appears equivocal, please let me know, and I will rephrase my query for clarity .
Re: Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ide
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08 Jan 2024, 04:14
1
Expert Reply
Frankly speaking , believe me or not, I picked up D as well.
when a student asks me to help , I first and foremost, attempt the question on my own. I do not see the OA and then explain. This way is easy.
Again, for me the best answer should be C
(A) discussing a controversial scientific discovery
There is nothing of controversial here. We say only that sometimes we have new discoveries. Usually these improve our understanding moving forward our knowledge. But always in small steps. However, sometimes we do have some discoveries that are groundbreaking, open up to new frontiers.
That said, A I not for sure
(C) illustrating a contention with a specific example
Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ideas, giving rise to new theories
This is not an opinion. This is a fact. Moreover, what is argued in the passage is not just an example. But it is a narrative of how a new discovery could be such of importance.
This is my personal opinion. Better to move on from this passage. Usually, MGRE provides good passages. However, in my experience, those provided by Kaplan are better than these
Even though now MGRE and Kaplan are the same conglomerate
gmatclubot
Re: Archaeological discoveries frequently undermine accepted ide [#permalink]