Reading comp PrepTest 130 · Section 2 · Question 5

Topic: Social Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Obstacles in studying ancient textiles (cloth perishes, evacuators discarding artifacts, unhelpful texts) and the author's view (researchers pieced together info to learn a lot)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Unlike most archaeological fields, those studying crafts made by women can't rely on archaeological remains or texts (first and second sentences)
    • Until recently, most evacuators discarded ancient cloths and loom weights (third sentence)
  • Author's view:
    • Despite obstacles, researchers have been able to piece together information on ancient textiles (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "particularly unavailing" (second sentence); "thwarted" (second sentence); "archaic, unrevealing terminology" (third sentence); "learned a great deal" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Advances in studying textiles (improved technology, philosophical shift to preserve all objects) and linen shirt example
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Technology allows for archaeologists to acquire much more information than they could with traditional sources (first sentence)
    • Before the philosophical shift, archaeology focused on acquiring artifacts; after the shift, archaeology became a scientific pursuit of knowledge about past cultures and began preserving all objects — even those without apparent value (third and fourth sentences)
  • Examples of technological advances, according to the author:
    • Radiocarbon dating, infrared photography to see through date, isotope "fingerprinting" for tracing materials, and thin-layer chromatography for dyes (second sentence)
  • Example of discovery that was aided by philosophical shift, according to the author:
    • The oldest known garment, a linen shirt, was found in pile of rags in the Petrie collection (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "provide much more information than was previously available" (first sentence); "Successful" (second sentence); "an important philosophical revolution" (third sentence); "little more than a self-serving quest" (fourth sentence); "scientific pursuit of knowledge" (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Another advance (recreating production, which can help check hypotheses) and loom weight and Athena statue examples
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • Recreating ancient production methods allows researchers to generate and check hypotheses (first and second sentences)
  • Examples of discoveries aided by recreation, according to the author:
    • Confirmed that clay blobs were loom weights (third sentence)
    • Figured out that a garment was made for a small Athena statue, not a large one (fourth through last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "advanced" (first sentence); "valuable way of generating and checking hypotheses" (second sentence); "made it possible to confirm" (third sentence); "have ascertained" (last sentence)

Main Point: Archaeologists studying ancient textiles have overcome the obstacles presented by traditional sources with new technologies, artifact preservation, and textile recreation, allowing archaeologists to learn a lot about ancient textiles from disparate sources of evidence.

Old Approach/New Approach: This passage best fits the Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure.* In such a passage, the author typically starts by describing an old way of doing something or thinking about something. Often, this is referred to as the "traditional" approach or theory. In this passage, the author describes the "traditional" sources of evidence about ancient history and the problems these sources present for those studying ancient textiles. As is often the case with these passages, the author then describes a new, alternative approach. In this passage, the new approach includes utilizing many sources of evidence, including new technologies, artifact preservation, and textile recreation.

In an Old Approach/New Approach passage, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the new approach is generally the main point. To identify the main point, we can look for whether the author provides a conclusion that summarizes their opinion on the new approach. In this passage, the author summarized their opinion at the end of the first paragraph, so we can use that to help us articulate the passage's main point.

*That said, we could refer to this as a Problem/Solution passage. The author describes the problems associated with using traditional sources of evidence when studying ancient artifacts. Then, the author presents the new approaches as a solution to some of these problems. If framing this passage as a Problem/Solution passage makes more sense to you, you'll still acquire a good understanding of the passage's organization and main point.

Examples: Examples are the most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage. In fact, each facet of the new approach is accompanied by at least one example. We get examples of new technologies (P2, S2). We get an example of how the preservation of artifacts believed to lack value ended up leading to the discovery of the oldest known complete garment (P2, S6). And in the third paragraph, we get two examples of how recreating ancient textiles led to specific discoveries (loom weights, P3, S3; small Athena garment, P3, S4-S6). We should expect these examples to show up in the questions since they account for a significant portion of the author's support.

As with many passages, noting the implicit structure and key features should be helpful as we work through the questions. Knowing where each part of the new approach is discussed and what each example illustrates will help quite a bit as we look for information to support the answers.