Plants in the Diets of Paleo-lndians
Some researchers have maintained that in prehistoric times, the early peoples who inhabited North America, such as the Clovis culture (10,000-9,000 B.c.E.), subsisted mainly on the meat of the large animals they hunted. Some have held that plant foods were “neither a provable nor logical part” of Paleo-Indian diets. However, although it is fair to say the degree of plant use among Paleo-Indians remains unproven, that they used plant foods is both provable and eminently logical. Finding that proof requires good recovery techniques, since seeds, berries, and other traces of plants (or even small animals) are not easily detected, even if they are preserved. A little luck helps, too.
Luck and technique came together at Shawnee-Minisink Pennsylvania. During the excavations, 10 percent of all excavated sediment was poured into large, water-filled washtubs; minute organic remains(bits of bone, wood charcoal, seeds) floated to the surface and were collected with a tea strainer, while the remainder of the sediment was passed through fine mesh screens Flotation captured acalypha, hackberry, blackberry chenopod, hawthorn plum, and grape seeds, as well as tiny fish bones, from meals 10,900 years ago. Shawnee- Minisink, however, is an exception. Most other Paleo- Indian sites were excavated before flotation became customary, and even today, flotation or some form of water screening is not always incorporated in fieldwork
Indirect evidence of plant consumption comes from Paleo-Indian teeth (what few there are), some of which, Gentry Steele reports, are heavily worn-a sign of the grit that gets chewed along with the greens. Wandering into more circumstantial territory, there are possible seed-grinding stones at Clovis (the site the culture is named for), and cutting tools with polished edges at several other sites (including Gault). The polish appears to be sickle sheen, which develops when tools are repeatedly used to harvest grasses, which are covered with tiny silica bodies (opal phytoliths) that scrape, cut, and polish the stone.
Although this is a meager record of recognizable plant- processing tools, a bit of context is helpful. First, many plant-processing implements recorded historically(for example, among the lroquois)are biodegradable (made of substances that decay relatively quickly). Second, the scarcity of tools might reflect the intensity or, better, the lack of intensity of plant use. Plant foods are routinely lower-ranked resources, since harvesting and processing them is time consuming and difficult. Consequently, they are added to the diet mostly in times of stress (such as during drought) and become a staple only later in prehistory, when human populations increase and opportunities to move to new territories decrease. At those times, plant use becomes more intensive, and with it come the heavy-duty tools for large-scale plant processing: earth and rock ovens, bedrock mortars, and grinding stones. The absence of these tools from Clovis sites may only indicate plant use was not intensive, not that plants were unused. Collecting nuts, berries fruits, and green vegetables requires little more than a basket or skin pouch. The chances of building up a visible archaeological record from exploiting such resources are vanishingly small.
Finally, it may be the evidence is right in front of us. Gary Haynes believes Clovis sites show “no attraction to nut- tree-wooded areas or seed-rich grasslands.”Of course we cannot say exactly where nut-rich woods or seed rich grasslands were over 10,000 years after the fact, but we can say that a vast number of Clovis artifacts do occur in what were the complex forests of Late Glacial eastern North America, which included nut bearing trees such as walnut and hickory. Clovis points (sharp stone tools) were useable for various tasks, whether skinning rabbits, prying open turtle shells, or even digging out stubborn, edible roots. Many artifacts examined in eastern North America show wear patterns indicative of use as multipurpose, hafted knives, while very few display impact fractures from hunting damage.
Haynes, in fact, inadvertently (and probably unintentionally) underscores the importance of plant collecting, suggesting it was the trigger to Clovis settlement mobility. He reasons that since the men were off hunting while the women stayed close to camp to gather, the women must have had a strong voice in making the “executive decisions” about when camp should be moved. This was so, he surmises, “because they were the most sensitive to the exhaustion of resources that were within reasonable walking distance of camp.”As plant gatherers, they would be.
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Some researchers have maintained that in prehistoric times, the early peoples who inhabited North America, such as the Clovis culture (10,000-9,000 B.c.E.), subsisted mainly on the meat of the large animals they hunted. Some have held that plant foods were “neither a provable nor logical part” of Paleo-Indian diets. However, although it is fair to say the degree of plant use among Paleo-Indians remains unproven, that they used plant foods is both provable and eminently logical. Finding that proof requires good recovery techniques, since seeds, berries, and other traces of plants (or even small animals) are not easily detected, even if they are preserved. A little luck helps, too.
The word “degree”in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Aarea
Blevel
Cstart
Dtype
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Some researchers have maintained that in prehistoric times, the early peoples who inhabited North America, such as the Clovis culture (10,000-9,000 B.c.E.), subsisted mainly on the meat of the large animals they hunted. Some have held that plant foods were “neither a provable nor logical part” of Paleo-Indian diets. However, although it is fair to say the degree of plant use among Paleo-Indians remains unproven, that they used plant foods is both provable and eminently logical. Finding that proof requires good recovery techniques, since seeds, berries, and other traces of plants (or even small animals) are not easily detected, even if they are preserved. A little luck helps, too.
According to paragraph 1， it has been difficult to establish that Paleo-Indians used plants in their diet because
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
Aseeds, berries, and other plant foods were not always available
Btraces of plants in Paleo-Indian diets have not been preserved
CPaleo-Indians ate primarily the meat of large animals
Dremains of plants are not easily detected
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Luck and technique came together at Shawnee-Minisink Pennsylvania. During the excavations, 10 percent of all excavated sediment was poured into large, water-filled washtubs; minute organic remains(bits of bone, wood charcoal, seeds) floated to the surface and were collected with a tea strainer, while the remainder of the sediment was passed through fine mesh screens Flotation captured acalypha, hackberry, blackberry chenopod, hawthorn plum, and grape seeds, as well as tiny fish bones, from meals 10,900 years ago. Shawnee- Minisink, however, is an exception. Most other Paleo- Indian sites were excavated before flotation became customary, and even today, flotation or some form of water screening is not always incorporated in fieldwork
According to paragraph 2,why did researchers at Shawnee-Minisink put some of the excavated sediment into large, water-filled tubs?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
ATo soften the sediment before passing it through fine mesh screens
BTo collect tiny organic remains that would float to the top
CTo clean off bones and other fossils found within the sediment
DTo find out what percentage of the sediment was organic
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Indirect evidence of plant consumption comes from Paleo-Indian teeth (what few there are), some of which, Gentry Steele reports, are heavily worn-a sign of the grit that gets chewed along with the greens. Wandering into more circumstantial territory, there are possible seed-grinding stones at Clovis (the site the culture is named for), and cutting tools with polished edges at several other sites (including Gault). The polish appears to be sickle sheen, which develops when tools are repeatedly used to harvest grasses, which are covered with tiny silica bodies (opal phytoliths) that scrape, cut, and polish the stone.
According to paragraph 3, all of the following are findings from Paleo-Indian sites that may indicate plant consumption EXCEPT
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
Atiny silica bodies fallen from grasses
Bstones that may have been used to grind seeds
Cshiny areas on cutting tools made of stone
Dheavily worn teeth
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Although this is a meager record of recognizable plant- processing tools, a bit of context is helpful. First, many plant-processing implements recorded historically(for example, among the lroquois)are biodegradable (made of substances that decay relatively quickly). Second, the scarcity of tools might reflect the intensity or, better, the lack of intensity of plant use. Plant foods are routinely lower-ranked resources, since harvesting and processing them is time consuming and difficult. Consequently, they are added to the diet mostly in times of stress (such as during drought) and become a staple only later in prehistory, when human populations increase and opportunities to move to new territories decrease. At those times, plant use becomes more intensive, and with it come the heavy-duty tools for large-scale plant processing: earth and rock ovens, bedrock mortars, and grinding stones. The absence of these tools from Clovis sites may only indicate plant use was not intensive, not that plants were unused. Collecting nuts, berries fruits, and green vegetables requires little more than a basket or skin pouch. The chances of building up a visible archaeological record from exploiting such resources are vanishingly small.
Why does the author mention that”Collecting nuts, berries fruits, and green vegetables requires little more than a basket or skin pouch”?
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
ATo emphasize that plant foods are the easiest foods to obtain
BTo provide evidence that Paleo-Indians had the tools necessary for intensive plant use
CTo support the claim that plants were a good source of food for the Iroquois
DTo argue that Paleo-Indians may have collected plant foods without leaving signs that can be found today
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Finally, it may be the evidence is right in front of us. Gary Haynes believes Clovis sites show “no attraction to nut- tree-wooded areas or seed-rich grasslands.”Of course we cannot say exactly where nut-rich woods or seed rich grasslands were over 10,000 years after the fact, but we can say that a vast number of Clovis artifacts do occur in what were the complex forests of Late Glacial eastern North America, which included nut bearing trees such as walnut and hickory. Clovis points (sharp stone tools) were useable for various tasks, whether skinning rabbits, prying open turtle shells, or even digging out stubborn, edible roots. Many artifacts examined in eastern North America show wear patterns indicative of use as multipurpose, hafted knives, while very few display impact fractures from hunting damage.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Sentence Simplification Questions句子简化题
AIt is difficult to determine where nut-rich woods or seed-rich grasslands were over 10,000 years ago, or exactly the extent of the complex forests of Late Glacial eastern North America.
BEvidence from Clovis artifacts suggests that what are now seed-rich grasslands were complex forests 10,000 years ago, containing nut-bearing trees such as walnut and hickory.
CThough it is hard to know exactly what the landscape was like 10,000 years ago, evidence suggests that Clovis people lived in complex forests containing nut-bearing trees.
DIn the complex forests of Late Glacial eastern North America, there were nut-bearing trees such as walnut and hickory, but we cannot say for certain whether Clovis people lived in these forests.
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Finally, it may be the evidence is right in front of us. Gary Haynes believes Clovis sites show “no attraction to nut- tree-wooded areas or seed-rich grasslands.”Of course we cannot say exactly where nut-rich woods or seed rich grasslands were over 10,000 years after the fact, but we can say that a vast number of Clovis artifacts do occur in what were the complex forests of Late Glacial eastern North America, which included nut bearing trees such as walnut and hickory. Clovis points (sharp stone tools) were useable for various tasks, whether skinning rabbits, prying open turtle shells, or even digging out stubborn, edible roots. Many artifacts examined in eastern North America show wear patterns indicative of use as multipurpose, hafted knives, while very few display impact fractures from hunting damage.
According to paragraph 5,which of the following is true of Clovis tools found in eastern North America?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AMany of them seem to have been used for various purposes as knives.
BEach type of point was designed and used for a specific task, including one for prying open turtle shells and another for digging up roots.
CMost of them have impact fractures, which suggests they were used for hunting.
DFew if any of the points would have been strong enough to use for digging out edible roots.
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Haynes, in fact, inadvertently (and probably unintentionally) underscores the importance of plant collecting, suggesting it was the trigger to Clovis settlement mobility. He reasons that since the men were off hunting while the women stayed close to camp to gather, the women must have had a strong voice in making the “executive decisions” about when camp should be moved. This was so, he surmises, “because they were the most sensitive to the exhaustion of resources that were within reasonable walking distance of camp.”As plant gatherers, they would be.
Paragraph 6 suggests which of the following about the hunting done by Clovis people?
Inference Questions推理题
AIt generally provided the trigger that caused Clovis people to move their camp.
BIt usually took place a significant distance away from settlements.
CIt was generally done by groups that included both women and men.
DIt was done by the individuals within a group who were most sensitive to the exhaustion of local resources.
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Although this is a meager record of recognizable plant- processing tools, a bit of context is helpful. [■]First, many plant-processing implements recorded historically(for example, among the lroquois)are biodegradable (made of substances that decay relatively quickly). [■]Second, the scarcity of tools might reflect the intensity or, better, the lack of intensity of plant use. [■]Plant foods are routinely lower-ranked resources, since harvesting and processing them is time consuming and difficult. [■]Consequently, they are added to the diet mostly in times of stress (such as during drought) and become a staple only later in prehistory, when human populations increase and opportunities to move to new territories decrease. At those times, plant use becomes more intensive, and with it come the heavy-duty tools for large-scale plant processing: earth and rock ovens, bedrock mortars, and grinding stones. The absence of these tools from Clovis sites may only indicate plant use was not intensive, not that plants were unused. Collecting nuts, berries fruits, and green vegetables requires little more than a basket or skin pouch. The chances of building up a visible archaeological record from exploiting such resources are vanishingly small.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
Wooden rakes, hoes, and digging sticks are very unlikely to be preserved for thousands of years.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
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Some aspects of plant use among Paleo-Indians have been a matter of scholarly debate, but it seems certain that plants were part of their diet.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AAlthough it was once thought that prehistoric groups such as the Clovis of North America consumed relatively few plants, numerous plant-processing tools indicate that they ate large amounts of plants.
BThe fossil record reflected in tooth wear suggests that Paleo- Indians had a poor diet consisting mainly of plants.
CMuch of the evidence for plant consumption is indirect which should not be surprising since light to moderate plant use does not necessarily leave a lot of direct evidence.
DFlotation revealed the presence of plant seeds at the Shawnee-Minisink site, but unfortunately many other sites have been excavated without the help of this technique for finding seeds.
EA few researchers believe that plants may have been even more important to the Paleo-Indian diet than meat because the tools available were inappropriate for hunting many animals.
FRelocating when necessary, using multipurpose tools, and settling in nut-tree wooded areas are all practices that suggest that plants were important foods for Paleo-Indians.
