An archaeological team has been excavating three ancient village sites—Barras, Agna, and Cussaia—looking in particular at kitchen waste dumps as...
GMAT Multi Source Reasoning : (MSR) Questions
An archaeological team has been excavating three ancient village sites—Barras, Agna, and Cussaia—looking in particular at kitchen waste dumps as a way to understand the villages' dietary patterns and trading relationships. What follows are brief summaries of their findings.
Barras: The best data come from stratified finds in this oceanside village, which was inhabited from AD 600 to 1300 and was the only one of the three villages to produce seafood, its main dietary item. Though Barras residents hunted on land and raised crops, this provided relatively small amounts of food. As Barras's overall prosperity rose, there was more food available per person, and its population increased from an average of 100 residents in the AD 600s to 400 residents in the AD 1000s to 600 residents in the AD 1200s.
Agna: Agna was established in an inland forest around AD 800 and its residents mainly hunted but also ate considerable amounts of fruit, nuts, and other forest-vegetable products. They also traded meat to Barras for other goods. With no open fields, Agna grew no grain.
Cussaia: Predating Barras, Cussaia depended heavily on raising grain crops and eventually obtained seafood and meat via trade. It traded directly only with Barras, because a mountain range separated it from Agna, though some products may have been traded between Agna and Cussaia via Barras.
Additionally, there is no evidence that any other village traded with Barras, Agna, or Cussaia prior to AD 1300.
Assume that any increase of 5% or more from one century to the next in the amount of a given food consumed by Barras residents is due primarily to a corresponding increase in imports of that food into Barras from other villages. Given this assumption and the information provided, for each of the following, select Yes if it describes a food likely imported by Barras during times of increased food consumption. Otherwise select No.
OWNING THE DATASET
Understanding Source A: Text - Village Sites Archaeological Report
| Information from Dataset | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "An archaeological team has been excavating three ancient village sites—Barras, Agna, and Cussaia—looking in particular at kitchen waste dumps as a way to understand the villages' dietary patterns and trading relationships." |
|
| "Barras: The best data come from stratified finds in this oceanside village, which was inhabited from AD 600 to 1300 and was the only one of the three villages to produce seafood, its main dietary item." |
|
| "As Barras's overall prosperity rose, there was more food available per person, and its population increased from an average of 100 residents in the AD 600s to 400 residents in the AD 1000s to 600 residents in the AD 1200s." |
|
| "Agna was established in an inland forest around AD 800 and its residents mainly hunted but also ate considerable amounts of fruit, nuts, and other forest-vegetable products. They also traded meat to Barras for other goods. With no open fields, Agna grew no grain." |
|
| "Cussaia depended heavily on raising grain crops and eventually obtained seafood and meat via trade. It traded directly only with Barras, because a mountain range separated it from Agna" |
|
| "there is no evidence that any other village traded with Barras, Agna, or Cussaia prior to AD 1300" |
|
Summary: Archaeological data reveals three ancient villages with distinct dietary specializations based on geography (coastal seafood, forest hunting, agricultural grain) forming a closed trading network centered on Barras.
Understanding Source B: Table - Food Variety at Barras
Table Analysis:
- Shows dietary composition percentages by weight for Barras residents across centuries
- Key patterns observed:
- Seafood consistently the largest dietary component (45-65%)
- Notable drop in seafood percentage during 900s-1000s (from 60% to 45%)
- Meat consumption shows dramatic spike in 900s-1000s (tripling from 10% to 30%)
- Grains remain relatively stable (10-20% range)
- Inference: Seafood dominance confirms Barras's coastal specialization
- Inference: The 900s-1000s period shows a significant temporary dietary shift toward meat
- Linkage to Source A: The meat spike in 900s-1000s directly follows Agna's establishment (AD 800), confirming the impact of meat trade from Agna to Barras
Summary: Barras maintained seafood as its primary food source throughout its history, but the establishment of trade with Agna caused a dramatic temporary increase in meat consumption during the 900s-1000s.
Understanding Source C: Table - Meat and Seafood Consumption
Table Analysis:
- Shows monthly consumption in pounds per 4-person family for both Barras and Agna
- Key patterns observed:
- Barras seafood consumption remarkably stable (240-275 lb range)
- Barras meat consumption highly variable (37 lb to 172 lb peak)
- Agna entries show "Not applicable" for 600s-700s
- Agna seafood drops dramatically in 1100s (from 66 to 8 lb)
- Agna meat consumption very high when data available (180-240 lb)
- Inference: Stable seafood consumption at Barras despite population growth suggests increased total production
- Inference: Agna consumed seafood despite not producing it - must have obtained through trade
- Linkage to Source A: "Not applicable" entries perfectly align with Agna's establishment around AD 800
- Linkage to Source B: The 172 lb meat peak at Barras (900s) corresponds exactly with the 30% dietary percentage spike shown in Source B
- Inference: The dramatic drop in Agna's seafood consumption in 1100s (from 66 to 8 lb) suggests trade disruption
- Linkage to Source B: When Agna's seafood access dropped in 1100s, Barras's seafood percentage recovered to 60%, suggesting Barras retained more seafood locally
Summary: Consumption data confirms the interdependent trade relationship between villages, with Barras maintaining stable seafood access while Agna's seafood consumption depended entirely on trade, leading to vulnerability during disruptions.
Overall Summary
- The three sources reveal a closed trading system where geographic specialization created interdependence among three ancient villages.
- Barras, the coastal village, served as the central trading hub due to its unique seafood production and connections to both inland villages.
- The establishment of Agna around AD 800 dramatically changed dietary patterns, particularly increasing meat consumption at Barras.
- Trade relationships directly influenced dietary composition, with disruptions causing immediate impacts - especially for inland villages dependent on traded goods.
- Despite six-fold population growth, Barras maintained stable per-family food consumption, suggesting successful scaling of food production systems.
Question Analysis
For each given food and century-to-century period, determine if Barras imported that food based on whether the consumption increased by 5% or more, which would indicate imports from other villages.
Key constraints:
- Must consider consumption increase of 5% or more from one century to the next
- Increase in consumption implies import from other villages
- Evaluate three specific statements involving food types, villages, and centuries
Answer type needed: Yes/No determinations for each statement
Connecting to Our Analysis
Using food consumption data and village establishment timelines to verify if consumption changes meet threshold and if trade relationships existed, allowing determination of import status for the specified statements.
The analysis can be completed using consumption data and trade timelines, which fully support evaluation of all three statements.
Extracting Relevant Findings
Assessing three statements about Barras food imports by calculating consumption increases and verifying presence of trade partners over the relevant centuries.
Hypothesis: Increase of 5% or more in consumption from one century to the next implies import from the named village.
Increase threshold: 5%
Individual Statement/Option Evaluations
Statement 1 Evaluation
Did Barras import meat from Agna between AD 500s and AD 600s due to a consumption increase of 5% or more?
- Data availability: No data on meat consumption for the 500s
- Village existence: Agna village was not established until around AD 800
- Trade possibility: Cannot calculate due to lack of data and village existence
- Historical context: Agna did not exist in 500s-600s period
Answer: NO - Agna did not exist in 500s-600s, so imports could not have occurred.
Statement 2 Evaluation
Did Barras import meat from Agna between AD 800s and AD 900s due to a consumption increase of 5% or more?
- Consumption data: Meat consumption rose from 70 lb in 800s to 172 lb in 900s
- Calculation: Increase is (172 - 70) / 70 = 145.7%, well above 5%
- Threshold assessment: 145.7% increase strongly exceeds threshold
- Trade relationship: Agna was an active meat trade partner in this period
Answer: YES - Large increase and Agna was an active meat trade partner in this period.
Statement 3 Evaluation
Did Barras import grain from Cussaia between AD 600s and AD 700s due to a consumption increase of 5% or more?
- Consumption data: Grain dietary proportion increased from 10% to 15% between 600s and 700s
- Calculation: This represents a 50% proportional increase in grain consumption
- Threshold assessment: 50% increase significantly above 5% threshold
- Trade relationship: Cussaia traded grain to Barras at this time
Answer: YES - Significant increase and Cussaia traded grain to Barras at this time.
Systematic Checking
Verifying findings against historical data and village trade relations:
- Agna village was not established before AD 800, invalidating imports for AD 500s to 600s
- Meat consumption in Barras more than doubled from 800s to 900s, coinciding with Agna's establishment and meat trade
- Grain consumption increased by 50% from 600s to 700s, and Cussaia was a known grain trade partner
Final Answer
- Statement 1: No
- Statement 2: Yes
- Statement 3: Yes
Meat from Agna from the AD 500s to the AD 600s
Meat from Agna from the AD 800s to the AD 900s
Grain from Cussaia from the AD 600s to the AD 700s