Question 138·Hard·Inferences
Archaeologist Emily Garner and her colleagues recently analyzed a cache of ceramic drinking vessels unearthed in the Andean Southeastern Valley. Chemical tests revealed traces of theobromine—the biomarker for cacao—within residue clinging to the cups’ interiors. Radiocarbon dating places the vessels roughly 300 years earlier than the region’s first documented contact with Mesoamerican traders. Intriguingly, stylized glyphs resembling cacao pods adorn several of the cups, yet pollen samples from surrounding sediment show no evidence that cacao trees ever grew locally at that altitude. Garner argues that the most plausible explanation is that the clay cups and their contents moved together along an as-yet-unidentified exchange network, a conclusion that, if correct, would ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT inference completions, identify what the blank must accomplish (here: the broader historical significance of an exchange-network conclusion). Then synthesize the key constraints (early date, cacao residue, no local cultivation) into a single takeaway and choose the option that matches that takeaway without adding speculation or shifting to a narrower side issue.
Hints
Use the clause right before the blank
Reread the phrase "moved together along an as-yet-unidentified exchange network." Ask yourself: if that is true, what big historical conclusion would follow from it?
Pay attention to timing
Notice that the vessels are dated 300 years earlier than the first documented contact with Mesoamerican traders. How does that affect what we think about when exchange for cacao might have started?
Prefer conclusions that follow from all the evidence
The best completion should account for (1) cacao residue, (2) the early date, (3) no local cacao growth, and (4) the idea of an exchange network. Eliminate choices that explain only one detail or rely on speculation not supported by the passage.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the blank must do
Focus on the last sentence: "Garner argues that the most plausible explanation is that the clay cups and their contents moved together along an as-yet-unidentified exchange network, a conclusion that, if correct, would ____." The blank must state the larger historical implication of her conclusion about this exchange network.
Summarize the key evidence
The passage gives several facts:
- The cups contain chemical traces of cacao.
- Radiocarbon dating shows the cups are about 300 years earlier than the region’s first documented contact with Mesoamerican traders.
- Pollen samples show no evidence cacao trees grew locally at that altitude. Together, these points suggest cacao had to arrive from elsewhere earlier than historians’ documented timeline of contact would predict.
Infer Garner’s main claim
Garner’s explanation is that "the clay cups and their contents moved together along an as-yet-unidentified exchange network." That implies some form of long-distance exchange was already moving cacao (and the vessels associated with it) into the Southeastern Valley before the first documented contact.
Match the inference to the answer choices
Check each choice against the idea above:
- Choices that speculate about tiny local cultivation, focus only on where the cups were made/used, or replace an exchange network with mere one-off travel don’t match the passage’s emphasis on a network and its historical timeline implication.
- Only choice C states the broad conclusion supported by the evidence: the valley’s communities were involved in long-distance trade for cacao significantly earlier than historians have recognized.
So the correct answer is: indicate that communities of the Southeastern Valley established long-distance trade routes with cacao-producing regions significantly earlier than historians have previously recognized.