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 role does paragraph 2 play in the structure of the passage?
- AIt provides a contrast to the topic discussed in the first paragraph.
- BIt details examples that support the central idea of the first paragraph.
- CIt states a theory that will be explained further in the third paragraph.
- DIt summarizes the information found in the rest of the passage.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The question asks how paragraph 2 supports the structure of the passage. The first paragraph provides history on the field of archaeology, specifically what has come to be known as traditional archaeology. Paragraph 2 describes how modern archaeology differs from traditional archaeology, which is detailed in Option A.
Option B is incorrect because paragraph 2 provides no support for paragraph 1.
Option C is incorrect because paragraph 2 provides facts about modern archaeology and does not introduce a theory.
The remainder of the passage describes how modern archaeology was used at one specific dig, which is not mentioned in paragraph 2, making Option D incorrect.
Question analysis
Students explain the role paragraph 2 plays in the structure of “Uncovering the Past,” a short informational passage about how archaeology has changed over two centuries. The key is to see how the second paragraph relates to the first, and choices that describe common paragraph jobs can sound right if students skim.
- NYS standards
- 7R5 structure and genre features
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 This matches a routine grade 7 structure task: identify one paragraph’s job using the paragraph before it. The passage is short and clearly organized, so the demand lies mostly in reading the choices carefully.
- Estimated difficulty
- Straightforward: two steps or one careful reading.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- How, not what minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 13, 514 words; question and choices: about grade 7, 59 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
Paragraph 2 announces its own role with “however” and “different approach,” so students who read its first sentence closely find the answer quickly. Points are lost by students who judge the paragraph by its bulk, which is mostly a list of technologies, and so take it for support or a summary. The question rewards reading a paragraph’s opening for its relation to what came before.
How, not what minor Working it out
The stem asks for paragraph 2’s job, and the signal is its opening, “Today, however, there is a different approach,” which turns from paragraph 1’s traditional archaeologists to a contrasting method. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: Summarize paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 in a phrase each, then describe in your own words how the second relates to the first before reading the choices.
Traps
- Half right: One half of a two-part choice is right and the other is not.
The wrong answers, classified
B Half right (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Rightly sees that paragraph 2 details examples, laptops, 3-D modeling and lidar, but those examples illustrate the new approach rather than supporting paragraph 1’s account of traditional archaeology.
C Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Notices that paragraph 3 presents Kourion as “an example of the modern approach,” so paragraph 2 seems to set it up, but paragraph 2 describes methods and tools, not a theory.
D Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Assigns paragraph 2 a stock role, summary, without checking it: the paragraph never mentions Kourion, Camelia or the specialists who fill the rest of the passage.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This question is about structure, which means how the parts of a passage fit together. It asks what job paragraph 2 does. To answer, you need to know what paragraph 1 says. Then you need to see how paragraph 2 relates to it.
Sum up paragraph 1
Paragraph 1 starts, “Archaeology as a distinct branch of science is only about two centuries old.” It describes the early archaeologists. They dug up “priceless artwork and other valuable artifacts for museum display.” The paragraph ends by calling them “traditional archaeologists.”
Look at how paragraph 2 begins
Paragraph 2 opens with “Today, however, there is a different approach to archaeology.” The word “however” signals a contrast, a turn to something different. The words “different approach” say the same thing. The rest of the paragraph lists modern tools, like laptops, 3-D computer models, radar and lidar. So paragraph 2 sets modern archaeology against the traditional kind.
Check each choice
- A fits. Paragraph 2 contrasts the new approach with the old one in paragraph 1.
- B is wrong. Paragraph 2 does give examples, but they show the new approach. They do not support paragraph 1’s picture of traditional archaeology.
- C is wrong. Paragraph 2 describes methods and tools. It does not state a theory, an idea that still needs proof.
- D is wrong. A summary would mention Kourion, Camelia or the experts. Paragraph 2 names none of them.
Choose the answer
Paragraph 2 turns away from paragraph 1 and describes a different way of doing archaeology. So the answer is A, “It provides a contrast to the topic discussed in the first paragraph.”
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong choice, because paragraph 2 really is full of examples. But ask what the examples are examples of. They show modern tools, the opposite of the old approach. Examples of a different side create a contrast, not support.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Uncovering the Past” as printed (page 138)
