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Difficulty: MediumWords in Context: High-Utility Vocabulary

While early archeological assessments of the ancient city of Caral in Peru portrayed its society as highly centralized and dominated by a single governing body, recent excavations of residential sectors suggest a more ______ social structure. Researchers have uncovered diverse dwelling styles and varying distributions of domestic goods, indicating that different neighborhoods operated with a significant degree of economic and administrative autonomy.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

  1. decentralizedAnswer
  2. B
    homogeneous
  3. C
    rigid
  4. D
    rudimentary

Answer

decentralized
The text sets up a contrast between an older view of Caral's society as 'highly centralized' and a newer view based on recent excavations. The details that neighborhoods possessed 'economic and administrative autonomy' and showed 'diverse dwelling styles' indicate that power was distributed rather than concentrated. The word 'decentralized' precisely describes this organizational structure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context and identify structural transitions.
The word 'While' at the beginning of the sentence establishes a contrast between early assessments ('highly centralized') and recent excavations.
This helps determine that the missing word must mean the opposite of, or a departure from, being 'highly centralized'.
2
Examine the supporting evidence in the text.
The passage notes that researchers found 'diverse dwelling styles' and 'varying distributions of domestic goods,' concluding that neighborhoods had 'economic and administrative autonomy.'
These details indicate that power and resources were distributed locally rather than controlled by a single central body.
3
Evaluate the choices against the context.
'Decentralized' perfectly describes a system characterized by local autonomy and a lack of centralized control, making it the most logical fit.
It aligns both grammatically and semantically with the contrast and the supporting details.

Key Concept

Selecting words in context by identifying transition clues and local semantic details.
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Topics

Words in Context: High-Utility Vocabulary

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