From the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, the Inca empire flourished in the Andes Mountains. It maintained an eleven-thousand-mile network of stone-paved roads.
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1) Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for an archaeologist’s conclusion that a particular stretch of ancient stone-paved road was part of the Inca road system?
A) When the Inca conquered the area, they took some of the existing roads into their road system and then greatly extended the road system.
B) The particular stretch of road is oriented north and south, the orientation that many of the major roads in the Inca system had because of the north-south orientation of the Andes chain.
C) Shards of eleventh-century pottery from a distant part of what later became the Inca empire were found next to the stretch of road.
D) The stretch of road is the only ancient road between two places that were listed consecutively in a sixteenth-century list of way stations on the Inca road system.
Let us know what YOU THINK, and someone here will be happy to comment on your ideas.
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To determine which option provides the strongest support for an archaeologist's conclusion that a particular stretch of ancient stone-paved road was part of the Inca road system, we need to evaluate the relevance of each option.
A) Option A suggests that when the Inca conquered an area, they incorporated existing roads into their road system and expanded it. This provides some support for the conclusion but does not specifically identify the particular stretch of road in question as part of the Inca road system.
B) Option B states that the particular stretch of road is oriented north and south, which aligns with the orientation of many major roads in the Inca system due to the north-south orientation of the Andes chain. This provides stronger support for the conclusion, as the alignment matches the pattern seen in other Inca roads.
C) Option C mentions finding eleventh-century pottery from a distant part of what later became the Inca empire next to the stretch of road. While this indicates ancient human activity in the area, it does not directly support the conclusion that this specific road was part of the Inca road system.
D) Option D states that the stretch of road is the only ancient road between two places that were listed consecutively in a sixteenth-century list of way stations on the Inca road system. This option provides the strongest support for the conclusion, as it directly links the road to the Inca road system based on historical documentation.
Therefore, option D is the correct answer as it provides the strongest support for an archaeologist's conclusion that a particular stretch of ancient stone-paved road was part of the Inca road system.