Question

The passage is primarily concerned with

• A. describing the history of the debate regarding pre-Columbian transoceanic travel
• B. weighing the evidence regarding the possibility of pre-Columbian Pacific Islander contact with the Galápagos Islands
• C. resolving the question of how the sweet potato came to be grown in the Pacific Islands
• D. evaluating the importance of the Galápagos Islands in the history of Pacific Islander navigation
• E. challenging Heyerdahl's theory regarding the origins of Pacific Islander settlements in the Galápagos Islands
• A. The prevailing winds in the region surrounding the Galápagos blew primarily from the east.
• B. Pacific Islanders are known to have traveled between the Pacific Islands and South America.
• C. Pacific Islanders used vessels with triangular sails.
• D. South Americans are known to have traveled to the Galápagos Islands.
• J. The Galápagos Islands were uninhabited.
• A. Archaeological evidence confirms that the sweet potato was cultivated in the Galápagos Islands in pre-Columbian times.
• B. The cultivation of the sweet potato in the Pacific Islands was limited to a few islands.
• C. The variety of sweet potato grown in the Pacific Islands is not the variety that is most resistant to decay during long sea voyages.
• D. The sweet potato is not the only South American plant found on the Pacific Islands in pre-Columbian times.
• O. The genetic variety of the sweet potatoes grown in the Pacific Islands suggests that the original sweet potatoes may have arrived at different times.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question asks for the main purpose of the passage. We need to identify the central topic and the author's approach to it.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The passage raises the question of whether Pacific Islanders could have traveled to the Galápagos and South America. It then systematically presents several pieces of evidence that argue against this possibility: unfavorable wind patterns, lack of appropriate sailing technology, and the absence of archaeological evidence in South America. It also addresses a potential piece of counter-evidence (the sweet potato) and offers an alternative explanation for it. This structure is best described as an evaluation or "weighing" of evidence.
Option (B) accurately reflects this. The passage is focused on assessing the evidence for and against the specific possibility of Pacific Islander contact.
Option (A) is too broad; the passage focuses on a specific case (Pacific Islanders and the Galápagos), not the entire history of the debate.
Option (C) is too narrow; the sweet potato is just one detail in the larger argument.
Option (D) is incorrect; the passage questions whether such navigation occurred, it doesn't evaluate the islands' importance to it.
Option (E) is incorrect; while it mentions Heyerdahl's theory was wrong, the main focus is on the Pacific Islander travel question, not on Heyerdahl's specific claims about South Americans.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The passage's main function is to analyze the evidence concerning a specific historical possibility, making option (B) the best answer.

Answer 2

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is an inference or detail question that asks what the passage indicates about the specific historical period being discussed.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The passage presents several points of evidence. One key factor discussed is the wind pattern: "Because the prevailing winds generally blow from the east, Galápagos-bound vessels sailing from the Pacific Islands would have had to beat windward." This sentence directly states a fact about the wind during the period.
Let's review the options based on the text:
(A) This is a direct paraphrase of the information given about the wind patterns.
(B) The passage argues against this conclusion.
(C) The passage states the opposite: "there is no evidence of such sails in the Pacific Islands during the period in question."
(D) The passage mentions Heyerdahl's claim about this was wrong, and the focus is on Pacific Islanders, not South Americans.
(E) The very first sentence contradicts this, referring to "Archaeological discoveries of Pacific Islander settlements on the historically uninhabited islands of the Galápagos," implying that while they were uninhabited before, settlements were found there. The question is about travel, not initial habitation.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The passage explicitly states that the prevailing winds blew from the east, making option (A) the correct statement.

Answer 3

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is an "undermine the argument" question. We need to find a new piece of information that weakens the author's specific conclusion about the sweet potato.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The author's conclusion is that the sweet potato "arrived via drifting plant matter rather than human transport." This conclusion serves to dismiss the sweet potato as evidence for human contact. To undermine this, we need evidence that makes the "drifting plant matter" theory less likely and the "human transport" theory more likely.
Let's analyze the options:
(A) This is consistent with the passage and doesn't affect the transport method.
(B) The geographic distribution doesn't explain the method of arrival.
(C) If the variety of sweet potato that arrived in the Pacific Islands was fragile and could not survive a long, unprotected sea voyage adrift, this would severely weaken the "drifting plant matter" hypothesis. It would strongly imply that the plant must have been protected during transport, as it would have been on a boat by humans. This directly undermines the author's conclusion.
(D) This would strengthen the case for contact in general, but it doesn't specifically undermine the author's conclusion *about the sweet potato*. The author could argue all the plants drifted.
(E) Multiple arrivals could have happened through drifting at different times. This doesn't necessarily support human transport over drifting.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Evidence suggesting the sweet potato could not have survived a drifting journey is the strongest underminer of the author's conclusion, making option (C) the best answer.