Which punctuation mark should be written in the blank to grammatically connect the two independent clauses in the passage?
Answer:For years, nineteenth-century colonial historians argued that the massive, complex stone walls of Great Zimbabwe must have been built by ancient foreign civilizations 【;】 local Shona oral traditions, however, had long maintained that the structures were built by their own ancestors during the Kingdom of Zimbabwe's golden age.
Answer
A semicolon should be placed in the blank because it correctly links two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
A semicolon is the correct punctuation mark because it links two closely related independent clauses. The second clause presents a contrasting view with the transition 'however', making the semicolon the ideal choice to show the close relationship between the thoughts.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Using semicolons to connect independent clauses
Estimated Time:1m 0s