#9 - Archaeologists are currently analyzing plant remains

[sean.reilly]

Hello! I got this question correct but struggled with it and would like some clarification on why (B) is correct. Initially I eliminated (B). I understand how this answer choice hints at the consequences of the binary (either CULTIVATED / or WILD) conditionality established in the stimulus. I also understand how if the plants were cultivated, clearly, they were used in novel ways.

However, I took issue with the WILD side of the coin. We merely know that, if wild, the settlement used a "wider variety" of plants than any other community at the time. I don't think this actually fulfills the condition put forth in (B) that the settlement "used some plants in ways no one else did at the time." Variety does not mean the settlement used plants that no one else did - it is entirely possible that all of the wild plants used by the settlement were in use by other, separate, cultures. All we know is that no other culture used as varied a set of plants simultaneously.

I ended up choosing B because I thought all the other choices were worse. Is this just an example of the difference between a Must Be True 100% standard and a Most Strongly Supported 95% standard? Or am I overthinking this?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Sean,

You're not alone in questioning Answer B in relation to the Wild/Uncultivated side of the issue. In fact, if you read some earlier posts, you'll see others have also wondered about it.

While I don't think that you're "overthinking it" in a general sense (those distinctions and nuances can be important at times), this is a case where Answer B is the best answer that we have available.

You are also correct that this is a perfect illustration of the difference between a "Most Strongly Supported" question and a "Must Be True" question. Here, Answer B is the most strongly supported by the information in the stimulus although it is not necessarily 100% true for the reasons that you mention. It is possible that, collectively, there were other people in the world eating the same foods as the people at the site even though the people at the site ate a wider variety than any other specific group of people at the time.