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Information and IdeasMediumInference about a method's limitation

Information and Ideas practice question

Archaeologists estimating the population of the hill fort counted the house platforms visible on its surface and multiplied by an average household size. Later excavation of one small area revealed two further houses beneath the visible platforms, from an earlier phase of occupation. This suggests that ____

Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A. the surface count captured only the final phase of the fort and may understate how many people lived there over its history.Correct
  2. B. the fort was never occupied.
  3. C. the average household size used was too large.
  4. D. the visible platforms were not houses at all.

Answer: A. the surface count captured only the final phase of the fort and may understate how many people lived there over its history.

Buried earlier houses mean the surface shows only the last phase.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the fort was never occupied.
Houses were found.
C. the average household size used was too large.
Nothing in the text bears on household size.
D. the visible platforms were not houses at all.
The platforms are treated as houses throughout.

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