"Using Chemistry to Learn Provenance of Clay Tablets"

Central Idea

100

26. How does the author develop the central idea over the course of the text?

B. by explaining the process of using technology to analyze written records of Mesopotamia

200

27. Which quotation supports the answer in Part A?

C “She’s incorporating portable X-ray fluorescence devices and machine-learning algorithms into her archaeological research.” (paragraph 7)

Text development

100

28. Read the sentence from paragraph 1. To an ancient Mesopotamian, the medium on which to preserve everything from real estate records to epic poetry. How does paragraph 2 develop the idea conveyed in the sentence?

D by emphasizing that the small sizes of clay tablets made them convenient for recording information

400

33. In paragraph 13, how does the author use rhetoric to advance her purpose?

A The author uses the reference of an unfolding story to explain how individual tablets form a comprehensive picture of the culture. 

D The author uses contrast to reveal that clay was viewed very differently in the past than it is today.

500

Part A 

34. How does the author connect ideas about science and archeology?

D by describing how science improves the processes of archeology

Citing text evidence

300

 31. Which quotation from paragraph 8 provides supporting evidence for the claim in paragraph 13 that “the ancient Mesopotamians chose well when they chose clay”? 

 B “‘If the city burns down, they are preserved because they are just then baked by fire.’” 

400

Part B 

35. Which quotation supports the answer in Part A?

C “The geographical location of the clay’s source dictates its atomic characteristics, invisible to us but quantifiable with X-rays.” (paragraph 10)

500

29. Select two phrases that support the inference that the author considers Mesopotamia to be an advanced civilization.

E “…the stunning poetry of the Epic of Gilgamesh.” (paragraph 6) 

D “…a tablet thousands of years old…” (paragraph 6)

Determining meaning

400

30. Read paragraph 5. A single tablet by itself, without any information about its origin, is reduced to a handful of fancy mud with half an aphorism. How does the phrase “fancy mud” affect the meaning of the text?

D It diminishes the financial values of the tablets displayed in museums and art galleries.

Meaning of words and phrases

200

32. In paragraph 12, which phrase provides context for the word repatriated ?

C “…determine a country of origin…”