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Difficulty: MediumLogical Inferences

Analyses of skeletal remains from the transition to agriculture in the Fertile Crescent show a significant rise in dental caries (cavities) among early farmers compared to hunter-gatherers, a shift typically blamed on carbohydrate-rich grain diets. However, bioarchaeologist Clara Vance notes that dental health did not decline uniformly; some agricultural settlements maintained low, stable caries rates for centuries. Vance argues that diet alone cannot explain this variation, pointing out that these low-caries populations lived in regions where local groundwater contained exceptionally high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A
    early agriculturalists in the Fertile Crescent intentionally settled near fluoride-rich water sources to prevent cavities.
  2. B
    hunter-gatherers in the Fertile Crescent had higher rates of dental cavities than agriculturalists did.
  3. local environmental factors, such as mineral levels in groundwater, could counteract the dental health risks associated with agricultural diets.Answer
  4. D
    the transition to agriculture did not lead to a change in diet for the agriculturalists who lived in fluoride-rich regions.

Answer

local environmental factors, such as mineral levels in groundwater, could counteract the dental health risks associated with agricultural diets.
The correct option logically completes the passage by concluding that local environmental factors, such as mineral levels in groundwater, could counteract the dental health risks associated with agricultural diets. The passage establishes that agricultural diets generally cause cavities, but some agricultural communities did not experience this decline, and these communities consumed fluoride-rich groundwater. Thus, the fluoride in the water must have mitigated the dietary dental risks.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premises presented in the text.
Premise 1: Agricultural diets typically lead to more cavities. Premise 2: Some agricultural populations had low cavity rates. Premise 3: These low-cavity populations drank fluoride-rich groundwater.
To build a logical bridge between the premises and the conclusion.
2
Evaluate the relationship between the premises.
The fluoride-rich water correlates with the prevention of the expected dental decline despite an agricultural diet.
To determine what can be concluded without making external assumptions.
3
Select the conclusion that directly connects these premises.
The presence of minerals like fluoride in groundwater mitigated the dental risks of the agricultural diet.
To choose the option that most logically completes the text.

Key Concept

Logical Inferences
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Topics

Logical Inferences

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