Passage Uncovering the Past
Uncovering the Past
Archaeology as a distinct branch of science is only about two centuries old. The first archaeological activities focused largely on the search for clues about earlier human societies. In the nineteenth century, most archaeologists were amateurs trained in ancient languages and history. Many were art historians whose interest lay in the artwork and monuments of ancient civilizations. For the most part, their excavations were aimed at uncovering and removing priceless artwork and other valuable artifacts for museum display. Collectively, these early archaeologists are now considered traditional archaeologists.
Today, however, there is a different approach to archaeology, one that tries to reconstruct the everyday life of people in ancient times by applying the scientific methods of a range of specialized fields. Modern archaeologists take full advantage of available technology. Laptop computers enable digging teams to record their finds at each level of an excavation. With sketchpad computer software, archaeologists can draw their finds in the field. Three-dimensional computer modeling enables researchers to create floor plans and elevations for the structures they uncover. Archaeologists can also use remote sensing technologies such as radar and lidar, which is similar to radar but it uses laser light instead of radio waves. These technologies enable scientists to detect traces of early settlements that are not visible to the human eye.
The excavations at Kourion, a Roman port city on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, serve as an example of the modern approach. Portions of Kourion had been unexpectedly buried by a massive earthquake in the fourth century A.D. Traditional archaeologists were interested primarily in the remains of Kourion’s theater, temple, and classical monuments. They also collected precious objects, such as jewelry, found in nearby tombs. Modern archaeologists, however, have focused their studies and excavations on the settlement itself. This preserved seaport has proved to be a gold mine of important information about everyday life sixteen centuries ago.
During one excavation of a house at Kourion, for example, forensic anthropologists were able to reconstruct the skeleton of a young girl, whom they called Camelia. On the basis of her teeth, they determined her age to be about thirteen, although measurement of her skeleton showed that she was only the size of a modern eleven-year-old. The study of the teeth also confirmed her sex and pointed to her excellent health; Camelia had no cavities. Even after centuries, the forensic scientists could study the physical evidence in ways similar to those used in criminal investigations to determine the circumstances of Camelia’s death.
Other specialists on this excavation included a zooarchaeologist, who identified animal remains, including the skeleton of a mule found near Camelia. Another specialist, a paleobotanist, studied the contents of a bake oven at the site and identified four domesticated grains among the charred crumbs—evidence of a kind of ancient multigrain bread.
Although the archaeologists at this site unearthed a few beautiful items, the excavation did not uncover any priceless artwork for museums. Nonetheless, the archaeological processes used in Kourion have given us a valuable insight into everyday life in a Roman city.
Question
What would a traditional archaeologist be most interested in finding at a site like Kourion?
- Aa human skeleton
- Bbeautiful jewelry or ceramics
- Cevidence of foods eaten
- Dthe remains of animals
Show the answer
Correct answer: B
The question asks what artifacts a traditional archaeologist would be interested in finding based on the material in the passage. The passage explains that, unlike modern archaeologists, traditional archaeologists are interested in valuable items from the past rather than learning about the people from the past and their lifestyles. Jewelry and ceramics are examples of valuable items, which makes Option B correct.
Option A is incorrect because human skeletons would be valuable to modern archaeologists, not traditional archaeologists.
Option C is incorrect because it is a detail that relates to modern archaeologists’ efforts to study people, not just valuable items.
Option D is incorrect because the remains of animals would also advance the goals of modern, rather than traditional, archaeologists.
Question analysis
This inference question asks what a traditional archaeologist would most want to find at Kourion, the Roman port city described in “Uncovering the Past.” Students apply the passage’s account of how older and newer archaeologists differ to a new case, and every choice is something an archaeologist might plausibly dig up.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 6 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Below grade 7 Easier than typical grade 7 inference work: the passage names what traditional archaeologists collected at this very site, so the task is mostly recall and matching, with little real inference.
- Estimated difficulty
- Routine: one familiar step, little to misread.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly understand
- What makes it hard
- Much to keep track of minor
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 13, 514 words; question and choices: about grade 8, 30 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
This is one of the easier questions in the set because paragraph 3 names jewelry among the precious objects traditional archaeologists took from tombs near Kourion. The only real risk is recalling the striking finds of paragraphs 4 and 5, Camelia’s skeleton, the mule and the bake oven, without noticing that modern specialists made them. Ceramics are never mentioned, but they fit the passage’s picture of valuable objects.
Much to keep track of minor Working it out
Every choice is something an archaeologist could find at Kourion, and three of them come from the modern team in paragraphs 4 and 5, so each find must be sorted by which group wanted it. (Sweller, 1988; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The stem asks what a traditional archaeologist “would” want, a hypothetical, though paragraph 3 nearly answers it: traditional archaeologists “collected precious objects, such as jewelry, found in nearby tombs.” (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Reread what the passage says traditional archaeologists looked for, at Kourion and in general, then choose the item that fits that description.
Traps
- Wrong part of the text: A choice is true of another paragraph, stanza or speaker than the one asked about.
The wrong answers, classified
A Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Recalls Camelia, the most memorable find in the passage, but her skeleton was reconstructed by forensic anthropologists studying everyday life, the modern approach, not by collectors of valuables.
C Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Remembers the paleobotanist who found four grains in a bake oven, work that serves the modern goal of learning how people lived rather than collecting precious objects.
D Wrong part of the text (Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
Draws on the zooarchaeologist who identified a mule skeleton near Camelia, a modern specialist’s finding about daily life rather than a valuable object of the kind traditional archaeologists sought.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This is an inference question. An inference is a smart guess based on clues in the text. The question asks what a traditional archaeologist would want to find at Kourion. Traditional archaeologists are the early ones from paragraph 1, not today’s scientists.
Find what traditional archaeologists wanted
Paragraph 1 says their digs “were aimed at uncovering and removing priceless artwork and other valuable artifacts for museum display.” Paragraph 3 talks about Kourion itself. It says traditional archaeologists cared about the theater and the temple. “They also collected precious objects, such as jewelry, found in nearby tombs.”
Put the clue in plain words
An artifact is an object that people made long ago. “Precious” and “priceless” both mean worth a lot. So the traditional group hunted for beautiful, valuable things to show in museums. Jewelry is named. Ceramics (pots and dishes made of baked clay) are not named. But fine ones are the same kind of prize.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. Camelia’s skeleton was studied by forensic anthropologists, scientists who study human bones. They were part of the modern team in paragraph 4.
- B fits. Jewelry is exactly what paragraph 3 says they collected.
- C is wrong. The grains in the bake oven were found by a paleobotanist, an expert in old plants. This expert was on the modern team in paragraph 5.
- D is wrong. The mule skeleton was found by a zooarchaeologist, an expert in old animal remains. This expert was also on the modern team.
Choose the answer
Traditional archaeologists wanted valuable objects for museums. Every other choice is something the modern team studied. So the answer is B, “beautiful jewelry or ceramics.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
Every choice is something found at Kourion, so ask who wanted it. The skeleton, the grains and the animal bones all teach about daily life. That was the modern goal. Only jewelry is a treasure for a museum case.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Uncovering the Past” as printed (page 138)
