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Difficulty: MediumPart-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

For centuries, historians believed that the widespread use of cowrie shells as currency in precolonial West Africa was a symptom of economic isolation from global trading networks. However, recent archaeological excavations at several major market sites have revealed that West African merchants actively managed complex, multi-currency systems that integrated local shell valuations with European silver and North African gold. To facilitate transactions across diverse linguistic groups, traders developed standardized baskets of uniform volume to measure large quantities of shells, effectively fixing their value relative to weight. This adaptation demonstrates that rather than indicating a primitive and closed market, cowrie-based trade was a sophisticated system capable of adjusting to and facilitating regional and trans-Saharan commerce.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

  1. A
    It states the main conclusion drawn by the author regarding the ultimate fate of cowrie-based trade networks.
  2. B
    It presents historical evidence proving that West African merchants preferred European silver over local currencies.
  3. It describes a specific practice used by merchants to illustrate the operational sophistication of the West African currency system.Answer
  4. D
    It introduces a technological limitation that prevented West African trade networks from expanding further.

Answer

The underlined sentence describes a specific practice used by merchants to illustrate the operational sophistication of the West African currency system.
The passage argues that precolonial West African cowrie shell currency was part of a sophisticated, well-managed multi-currency system. The underlined sentence describes a concrete standardizing practice—using standardized volume baskets to fix shell value by weight—to illustrate how traders managed this system. Therefore, it functions to show a specific merchant practice that demonstrates the operational sophistication of the trade network.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the overall structure and main argument of the passage.
The passage argues that precolonial West African trade using cowrie shells was not isolated or primitive, but rather a sophisticated and integrated multi-currency system.
Understanding the overall text structure is necessary to determine how the specific part (the underlined sentence) contributes to the whole.
2
Identify the content and immediate function of the underlined sentence.
The underlined sentence describes a specific action taken by traders: developing standardized baskets of uniform volume to measure shells and fix their value relative to weight.
This establishes the literal meaning of the portion being analyzed.
3
Relate the function of the underlined sentence to the passage's main argument.
The description of standardized measurements serves as a concrete example of the sophistication and adaptation of the currency system, supporting the main conclusion that the market was highly organized.
This step connects the specific part's function to the rhetorical purpose of the whole text.

Key Concept

Identifying how a specific sentence or part of a text contributes to the development of the author's larger argument or structure.
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Topics

Part-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

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