Question 159·Hard·Central Ideas and Details
Until recently, most historians believed that the earliest examples of the Eastron script—a writing system that eventually evolved into several modern alphabets—originated in the bustling trade ports along the kingdom’s eastern coast around 600 BCE. However, archaeologist Mira Al-Sayeed and her team have unearthed a set of pottery shards inscribed with unmistakable Eastron characters from a desert settlement nearly 400 kilometers inland; radiocarbon dating places the shards at roughly 720 BCE.
According to the text, what does the radiocarbon dating of the pottery shards suggest about when the Eastron script first appeared?
For SAT questions that ask what evidence suggests about timing, underline all dates and identify which date represents the previously accepted timeline versus the new finding. Then interpret the chronology correctly (especially with BCE/CE) and choose the option that states only what the dates logically support, avoiding answers that add causes or mechanisms the text never mentions.
Hints
Locate the two timelines
Find the date historians used to believe was the earliest (600 BCE) and the date of the shards (720 BCE).
Remember how BCE works
In BCE dating, bigger numbers are earlier in time. Decide whether 720 BCE is earlier or later than 600 BCE.
Connect the earlier date to the claim
If the script appears in 720 BCE evidence, what does that imply about the previous belief that the earliest examples were from around 600 BCE?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks what the radiocarbon dating suggests about when the Eastron script first appeared.
So you should focus on the dates in the passage and how the new date changes historians’ prior timeline.
Find the old timeline and the new evidence
The passage says historians previously believed the earliest examples came from coastal trade ports around 600 BCE.
Then it introduces new evidence: pottery shards dated to roughly 720 BCE.
Interpret the BCE dates correctly
With BCE dates, a larger number means an earlier time in history.
So 720 BCE is earlier than 600 BCE, meaning the script existed earlier than scholars had previously documented.
Select the answer that matches this conclusion
The best choice is the one stating that the discovery pushes the script’s first appearance earlier than previously recorded:
The shards reveal that the Eastron script appeared several generations earlier than scholars had previously documented.