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Information and IdeasVery hardEvidence for a claim about a road's builders

Information and Ideas practice question

An archaeologist argues that a stretch of road was built not by the Romans, as long assumed, but by a local people two centuries earlier.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the claim?

  1. A. Wooden posts set into the road's foundation have been dated by tree-ring analysis to 180 BC, two centuries before the Romans arrived in the region.Correct
  2. B. The road is straight for several miles.
  3. C. Roman coins have been found in a field beside the road.
  4. D. The road was still in use in the Middle Ages.

Answer: A. Wooden posts set into the road's foundation have been dated by tree-ring analysis to 180 BC, two centuries before the Romans arrived in the region.

Tree-ring dates before the Romans.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The road is straight for several miles.
Straightness does not identify builders.
C. Roman coins have been found in a field beside the road.
Coins nearby show later use, not construction.
D. The road was still in use in the Middle Ages.
Later use says nothing about origin.

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