Hi Shira!
In order to best understand how (A) parallels the function of the second-to-last sentence of the passage, let's consider what purpose that sentence serves within the paragraph as a whole. As we can see, the fourth paragraph seeks to understand the "cause of these sandslides". The author uses evidence of windblown clay particles and how that relates to clay buildup, then cites "observations of modern sand dunes" to help understand the aforementioned cause of prehistoric sandslides. So, in a more abstract sense, the author is using
modern observations of something to determine potential
causes of that phenomenon during
prehistoric times. Our prephrase should be something along those lines!
Turning to answer choice (A), we can see that's exactly what's happening! In (A), a historian is watching
modern craftspeople actively making a similar type of pottery to determine how a certain style of "
ancient pottery
was created".
Answer choice (B) is incorrect because the economist is trying to determine a rate (as opposed to a cause) or something modern using modern people.
Answer choice (C) is incorrect because the historian is using something ancient to theorize about something ancient, not using something modern to understand the cause of something ancient.
Answer choice (D) is incorrect because, although it is using past information to develop a technique, the economist is not trying to determine the cause of what happened in the past and is instead trying to develop a technique for the future.
Answer choice (E) is incorrect for largely the same reason as (C), since the archaeologist is using ancient objects to determine something ancient and because there is no attempt to determine the cause of a phenomenon.
I hope this helps
Kate
