While scholars believe many Mesoamerican cities influenced each other, direct evidence of such influence is difficult to ascertain. However, recent

Question

While scholars believe many Mesoamerican cities influenced each other, direct evidence of such influence is difficult to ascertain. However, recent excavations in a sector of Tikal (Guatemala) unearthed a citadel that shows blank Teotihuacán (Mexico) architecture—including a near replica of a famed Teotihuacán temple—providing tangible evidence of outside influence in portions of Tikal.

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

Accepted Answer

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text&rsquo;s discussion of architectural influences among Mesoamerican cities. In this context, &ldquo;commonalities with&rdquo; means similarities to or shared attributes with. The text indies that a recently discovered citadel in Tikal includes a close imitation of a famous temple in Teotihuac&aacute;n (another Mesoamerican city) and other evidence of Teotihuac&aacute;n influence, which suggests that the citadel possesses features that resemble architectural features found in Teotihuac&aacute;n. This context thus indies that the Tikal citadel shows commonalities with Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture. Choice A is incorrect because there&rsquo;s nothing in the text that suggests that the Tikal citadel shows &ldquo;refinements of,&rdquo; or improvements on, Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture. Although the text suggests that the architecture of Teotihuac&aacute;n influenced the architecture of the Tikal citadel, and although it&rsquo;s possible that later architectural designs could make improvements on earlier designs, the text doesn&rsquo;t discuss whether, in imitating Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture, the Tikal citadel&rsquo;s builders improved on it. Choice B is incorrect because describing the citadel in Tikal as showing &ldquo;precursors of&rdquo; Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture-or features that preceded and foreshadowed those of Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture-would imply the opposite of what the text suggests about the relationship between the architecture found in Tikal and Teotihuac&aacute;n. The text claims that the discovery of similarities between the Tikal citadel and the architecture of Teotihuac&aacute;n, including a replica of a temple in Teotihuac&aacute;n, provides evidence of outside influences on Tikal architecture. If the Tikal citadel was influenced by Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture, then the Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture must predate the citadel, not the other way around. In this context, therefore, it wouldn&rsquo;t make sense to say that the Tikal citadel shows precursors of Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture. Choice D is incorrect because the text discusses how the citadel in Tikal indies the influence of Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture, which implies that the makers of the Tikal citadel likely admired aspects of Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture enough to imitate it. Thus, there&rsquo;s no reason to think that the Tikal citadel provides evidence of the Tikal people&rsquo;s &ldquo;animosities toward,&rdquo; or feelings of strong dislike or hostility toward, Teotihuac&aacute;n architecture.

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