Archaeologist: Many excavators assume that the absence of monumental stone architecture at late Neolithic settlements indicates a lack of complex social hierarchy. However, this assumption is mistaken. In dense, resource-rich riverine settlements, centralized leadership frequently directed collective labor toward perishable timber palisades and communal irrigation canals rather than enduring stone monuments. Consequently, sophisticated hierarchical organization could easily exist without leaving durable architectural ruins. Hence, excavators should not use the presence or absence of stone monuments as a reliable measure of social complexity in these communities.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the archaeologist's argument?
- AComplex social hierarchies in late Neolithic riverine communities were capable of organizing extensive labor without producing durable stone structures.
- BLate Neolithic societies invariably prioritized perishable irrigation infrastructure over stone monuments whenever centralized authority was established.
- The presence or absence of monumental stone architecture is not an adequate standard for assessing social complexity in late Neolithic settlements.Cevap
- DExcavators must focus their research primarily on unearthing timber palisades and irrigation channels rather than surveying stone formations.
- EThe lack of monumental stone monuments in a late Neolithic settlement confirms that the community had no centralized leadership.