In archaeology, as in the physical sciences, new discoveries frequently undermine accepted beliefs and give rise to new theories. This trend can be seen in the reaction to the recent discovery of a set of 3.3 – million – year – old fossils in Ethiopia, the remains of the earliest well – preserved child ever found. The fossilized child was estimated to be about 3 years old at death, female, and a member of the Australopithecus afarensis species. The afarensis species, a major human ancestor, lived in Africa from earlier than 3.7 million to 3 million years ago. "Her completeness, antiquity, and age at death make this find unprecedented in the history of paleoanthropology," said Zeresenay Alemseged, a noted paleoanthropologist. Other scientists said that the discovery could reshape conceptions about the lives and capacities of these early humans.
Prior to this discovery, it had been thought that the afarensis species had abandoned the arboreal habitat of its ape cousins. However, while the lower limbs of this fossil supported findings that afarensis walked upright, its gorilla – like arms and shoulders suggested that it retained the ability to swing through trees. This has initiated a reexamination of many accepted theories of early human development. Also, the presence of a hyoid bone, a rarely preserved bone in the larynx that supports muscles of the throat, has had a tremendous impact on theories about the origins of speech. The fossil bone is primitive and more similar to that of apes than to that of humans, but it is the first hyoid found in such an early human – related species.
It can be inferred from the passage's description of the discovery of the fossil hyoid bone that
Correct
Incorrect
Sample passage map (yours will likely differ):
(1) new disc → undermine old beliefs
-child fossil → new theories
(2) 2 things changed w/child
-walking / limbs
-speech / hyoid
The point (articulate to yourself; don't write): New discoveries change old ideas and give rise to new theories. A detailed archaeological example illustrates this overall point. The discovery of a particular skeleton led researchers to reexamine theories about early human life.
This is an inference question. Look for support for the correct answer by finding the hyoid bone in the second paragraph.
Consider everything the passage states about the hyoid bone: it is rarely preserved; it supports the muscles of the throat; its presence has impacted theories about the origins of speech; it is primitive; it is more similar to that of apes; it is the first hyoid found in an early human-related species.The correct answer must be true based on these facts, and it cannot rely on anything not stated.
(A) This is tempting, but it goes too far. The passage relates the hyoid to speech but does not support the claim that afarensis could actually speak.
(B) Check the last sentence of the paragraph. Tricky! The passage calls the discovered hyoid bone primitive and similar to that of apes, but does not make any direct comparisons between the two.
(C) The passage does connect the hyoid bone to speech, but does not provide support for the extreme claim that the bone is necessary for speech.
(D) CORRECT. The passage sets up the second paragraph by stating that the discovery could reshape conceptions about early humans. The passage then says that the hyoid discovery has had a tremendous impact on theories about the origins of speech.
(E) The discovery of the hyoid was certainly important, but the passage provides no information on the relative importance of fossils found at the site.
