Historically, anthropologists often operated under the assumption that hunter-gatherer societies possessed strictly egalitarian social structures, lacking any formalized hierarchy or wealth disparity. However, archaeological findings frequently challenge this uniform characterization. The presence of elaborate burial sites containing rare, imported artifacts alongside certain individuals, while others were interred with nothing, suggests that distinct social stratification existed in some pre-agricultural communities.
The author refers to "elaborate burial sites containing rare, imported artifacts" primarily to...
- Adescribe the specific types of goods that egalitarian pre-agricultural societies typically imported
- provide physical evidence that contradicts a traditional historical assumption regarding hunter-gatherer societiesAnswer
- Clist the various archaeological findings that early anthropologists used to define ancient social structures
- Dconcede a minor point to critics who argue that all pre-agricultural communities possessed formalized hierarchies
- Eillustrate the primary methodology by which historical anthropologists studied wealth disparity in ancient cultures
Answer
The correct answer states that the reference provides physical evidence that contradicts a traditional historical assumption regarding hunter-gatherer societies.
The passage begins by establishing a baseline assumption held by historical anthropologists: that hunter-gatherer societies were strictly egalitarian. The author then pivots, stating that archaeological findings challenge this idea. The reference to the burial sites immediately follows as the concrete, physical example of those findings, proving that social stratification and wealth disparity did exist.
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