In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community. Membership in the community, based...

GMAT Reading Comprehension : (RC) Questions

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Reading Comprehension

Humanities

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In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community. Membership in the community, based on kinship, provided constituents, both men and women, with access to these resources. The community apportioned land on the basis of household size, and the right to use various lands was passed by inheritance from one generation to the next. Although women relinquished their portion of land when they married, marriage enabled them to acquire other land and goods essential to establishing a new household. In addition, in certain pre-Incan communities, there existed a higher rank of people known as curacas, who were entitled to make a greater claim on the community's resources. Records indicate that in some instances women served as curacas, participating in governing councils that made decisions affecting the community as a whole.

Scholars have suggested that with the conquest of these communities by Incas, women were relegated to a lesser status. It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land. Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women.

Evidence indicates that, in Incan society, women's tasks could have afforded them considerable status. For instance, one of women's main functions in Incan society was that of weaving cloth. The distribution and exchange of cloth were essential to the empire's economic structure and more important, designs woven into belts, ponchos, and shawls constituted a form of symbolic communication. Primarily by decoding designs found in modern weavings, designs also found in pre-Columbian Incan material, Gertrude Solari has shown that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers, accounts of critical events, and in some instances even the entire history of a community.

Ques. 1/5

The primary purpose of the passage is to

compare scholarly views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities with scholarly views of the status of women in the Incan empire

analyse the implications of recently discovered evidence concerning the role of women in the Incan society

question the accuracy of a view of the effects of the Incan conquest on the status of women in the conquered communities

question the reliability of descriptions of the Inca society by Spanish clerics and conquistadores

present evidence of the significance of women's work in the Incan empire

Solution

1. Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community.	What it says: In ancient mountain communities before the Incas, the entire community as a group owned and controlled all the valuable things needed for survival and production. What it does: Sets up the foundational concept - introduces the baseline system we'll be examining. Source/Type: Historical fact presented by the author. Connection to Previous Sentences: This is our starting point - no previous context available yet. Visualization: Think of a mountain village of 200 people where all farmland, water sources, and tools belong to everyone collectively rather than individual families. What We Know So Far: Pre-Incan communities had collective ownership What We Don't Know Yet: How this system actually worked in practice, what happened to it later Reading Strategy Insight: This opening sentence establishes our "baseline" - everything else will show us how this system worked and what changed it.
Membership in the community, based on kinship, provided constituents, both men and women, with access to these resources.	What it says: If you were related to people in the community (family connections), you got to use the community's resources, and this applied equally to men and women. What it does: Explains HOW the system from sentence 1 actually worked - gives us the mechanism. Source/Type: Historical fact/explanation. Connection to Previous Sentences: This directly explains sentence 1! Sentence 1 told us the community controlled resources, now sentence 2 tells us who got to access them and how. Visualization: In that same 200-person village, if you're born into the Martinez family or marry into the Lopez family, you get to farm the land, use the water, access tools - same rules for men and women. Reading Strategy Insight: Feel confident here - this isn't new complexity, it's clarification of how the system worked. The key detail: equal access for men and women - this will likely be important later.
The community apportioned land on the basis of household size, and the right to use various lands was passed by inheritance from one generation to the next.	What it says: The community divided up land based on how many people were in each family, and these land-use rights got passed down from parents to children. What it does: Provides specific details about how land allocation worked within the community system. Source/Type: Historical fact/mechanism. Connection to Previous Sentences: This continues building on sentence 2's explanation. We now have the complete picture: community ownership → kinship-based access → land allocated by family size → rights passed down through generations. Visualization: Family of 2 people gets 5 acres, family of 6 people gets 15 acres. When parents die, children inherit the right to farm those same plots. Reading Strategy Insight: Still explaining the same system - we're getting deeper detail, not new concepts. The passage is being systematic and clear about how this society worked.
Although women relinquished their portion of land when they married, marriage enabled them to acquire other land and goods essential to establishing a new household.	What it says: When women got married, they gave up their original family land, but marriage allowed them to get different land and other valuable things needed to start their new family. What it does: Addresses a potential concern about women's status - shows that losing land through marriage wasn't necessarily a disadvantage. Source/Type: Historical fact about marriage customs. Connection to Previous Sentences: This builds on the inheritance system from sentence 3 and the equal access principle from sentence 2. It shows that women maintained resource access even when their situation changed through marriage. Visualization: Maria has rights to 8 acres in her birth family. She marries Carlos and loses those 8 acres, but gains access to 10 acres from Carlos's family plus household tools, animals, etc. Reading Strategy Insight: The author is being thorough about women's status. Since sentence 2 mentioned equal access, the author anticipates we might worry about marriage affecting this equality, so they clarify it didn't.
In addition, in certain pre-Incan communities, there existed a higher rank of people known as curacas, who were entitled to make a greater claim on the community's resources.	What it says: Some of these communities also had special high-ranking people called curacas who got to claim more of the community's resources than regular people. What it does: Introduces a hierarchy/exception to the basic community system we've been learning about. Source/Type: Historical fact about social structure. Connection to Previous Sentences: This adds a layer to our understanding. The basic system was community ownership with equal access, but some communities also had elite leaders with extra privileges. Visualization: In our 200-person village, maybe 5-8 people have the special "curaca" status and get access to the best farmland, extra tools, or more livestock than the standard allocation. What We Know So Far: Pre-Incan communities had collective ownership, kinship-based access, equal gender access, inheritance of land rights, and sometimes special elite classes What We Don't Know Yet: Whether women could be curacas, what happened when the Incas took over Reading Strategy Insight: This introduces social complexity but doesn't contradict what we've learned - it adds nuance to the community system.
Records indicate that in some instances women served as curacas, participating in governing councils that made decisions affecting the community as a whole.	What it says: Historical records show that sometimes women held these high-ranking curaca positions and were part of the government councils that made important community decisions. What it does: Directly answers the implicit question raised by the previous sentence - extends the pattern of gender equality to the highest levels. Source/Type: Historical evidence ("records indicate"). Connection to Previous Sentences: This perfectly continues the theme of gender equality we've seen throughout. Sentence 2: equal resource access. Sentence 4: women maintained access through marriage. Now: women could reach the highest social positions. Visualization: In some villages, 2-3 of those 8 curaca leaders were women, and they sat on the council deciding things like resource distribution, community rules, trade agreements. Reading Strategy Insight: Feel confident - this reinforces rather than complicates our understanding. The passage is systematically showing us that gender equality was a consistent feature at ALL levels of these societies.
Scholars have suggested that with the conquest of these communities by Incas, women were relegated to a lesser status.	What it says: Researchers believe that when the Incas conquered these communities, women lost their equal status and were pushed into inferior positions. What it does: Introduces the major transition/change that the passage will now examine - sets up a contrast with what we've learned so far. Source/Type: Scholarly opinion ("scholars have suggested"). Connection to Previous Sentences: This contrasts sharply with everything we've learned about gender equality in pre-Incan society. The passage is setting up a "before vs. after" comparison. Visualization: Before conquest: Women could be curacas, inherit land, participate in government. After Incan conquest: Women supposedly lost these rights and opportunities. What We Know So Far: Complete picture of pre-Incan gender equality + scholarly claim about Incan impact What We Don't Know Yet: Whether this scholarly claim is actually true, what evidence supports or contradicts it Reading Strategy Insight: The word "suggested" is key - this is a theory, not established fact. The passage is likely setting this up to examine whether it's correct.
It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land.	What it says: The Incan empire did indeed grow larger and needed to keep government workers, professionals, and soldiers loyal, so they started giving these groups land as rewards. What it does: Provides factual context that partially supports the scholars' theory - explains the mechanism that could have reduced women's status. Source/Type: Historical fact ("it is true that"). Connection to Previous Sentences: This begins to explain WHY the scholars' theory from sentence 7 might be correct. The Incas created a new system of land grants that could have disrupted the old community-based system. Visualization: Incan government says: "General Rodriguez, for your military service, you get 500 acres. Administrator Martinez, for running this province, you get 300 acres." This land comes from the old community-controlled territories. Reading Strategy Insight: The passage is being fair - it's acknowledging that there were real changes that COULD have harmed women's status, before examining whether they actually did.
Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women.	What it says: Because the Incas considered the jobs that earned land rewards (military, government, etc.) to be men's work, scholars think this should have automatically reduced women's power and independence. What it does: Completes the logical chain of the scholars' argument - shows why the land grant system would specifically hurt women. Source/Type: Scholarly reasoning/argument. Connection to Previous Sentences: This completes the theory we started in sentence 7. The logic is: Incas gave land to bureaucrats/military → these jobs were considered masculine → therefore women lost access to land and power. Visualization: All the land grants go to: male generals, male administrators, male priests. Women can't earn these positions, so they can't get land grants, so their relative status falls compared to men. Reading Strategy Insight: The phrase "scholars argue" and "should have been" suggests this is still theoretical. The passage has now fully explained the theory but hasn't yet told us if it's correct.
Evidence indicates that, in Incan society, women's tasks could have afforded them considerable status.	What it says: Historical evidence shows that the work women did in Incan society actually could have given them significant importance and respect. What it does: Begins to challenge/complicate the scholars' theory - suggests women may have maintained status through different means. Source/Type: Evidence-based counterargument to the scholarly theory. Connection to Previous Sentences: This directly challenges the conclusion in sentences 7-9. While scholars argue women were "relegated to lesser status," actual evidence suggests they "could have afforded them considerable status." Visualization: Instead of losing all status, maybe women maintained high status through different activities that were particularly valued in Incan culture. Reading Strategy Insight: The passage structure is becoming clear: Theory vs. Evidence. Feel confident - we're not getting overwhelmed with complexity, we're seeing a straightforward debate between scholarly theory and actual evidence.
For instance, one of women's main functions in Incan society was that of weaving cloth.	What it says: As an example, one of the most important things women did in Incan society was weave fabric. What it does: Provides the first specific example of how women could have maintained status - introduces the key activity we'll examine. Source/Type: Historical fact about gender roles. Connection to Previous Sentences: This gives us a concrete example of sentence 10's abstract claim. Sentence 10 said women's tasks could afford them status; sentence 11 identifies weaving as one such task. Visualization: While men might be earning status through military service or administration, women are earning status through their skilled textile work. Reading Strategy Insight: "For instance" signals that we're about to get concrete evidence rather than abstract theory. This should feel like clarification, not new complexity.
The distribution and exchange of cloth were essential to the empire's economic structure and more important, designs woven into belts, ponchos, and shawls constituted a form of symbolic communication.	What it says: Trading and distributing textiles was crucial to how the Incan economy worked, and even more importantly, the patterns women wove into clothing items served as a kind of symbolic language. What it does: Explains WHY weaving could afford women status - shows it was both economically and culturally vital. Source/Type: Historical analysis of cultural/economic importance. Connection to Previous Sentences: This explains sentence 11's example. It's not just that women wove cloth - their weaving was central to the economy AND served as communication, making it incredibly valuable. Visualization: Women's textiles are like both the stock market (essential for economic exchange) and the newspaper (carrying important symbolic messages) of the Incan empire. Reading Strategy Insight: The passage is systematically building the case that weaving gave women significant status. We're getting deeper into the same idea, not jumping to new topics.
Primarily by decoding designs found in modern weavings, designs also found in pre-Columbian Incan material, Gertrude Solari has shown that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers, accounts of critical events, and in some instances even the entire history of a community.	What it says: A researcher named Gertrude Solari studied patterns in both modern and ancient weavings and discovered that through their textiles, women were recording everything from family events to political information to major historical events - sometimes even complete community histories. What it does: Provides concrete research evidence showing the full scope and importance of women's weaving - demonstrates they were essentially the historians and record-keepers of their communities. Source/Type: Specific research findings by a named scholar. Connection to Previous Sentences: This completes the argument that began in sentence 10. We've gone from: women's tasks could afford status → weaving was a main task → weaving was economically and symbolically important → specific evidence shows women were recording crucial historical and political information. Visualization: Women weren't just making pretty clothes - they were weaving the equivalent of newspapers, government records, and history books all into their textiles. A single shawl might contain the record of a leadership change, a drought year, and three family marriages. What We Know So Far: Complete argument structure: Pre-Incan gender equality → Scholarly theory of Incan-era decline → Counter-evidence that women maintained high status through weaving (which was economically vital and served as historical record-keeping) Reading Strategy Insight: This is the climax of the counter-argument. Feel satisfied rather than overwhelmed - the passage has systematically built to this conclusion that women likely maintained significant status in Incan society, contrary to what scholars initially suggested.

2. Passage Summary:

Author's Purpose:

To challenge the common scholarly belief that women lost status when the Incas conquered pre-Incan communities by showing evidence that women may have actually maintained significant power and importance through different means.

Summary of Passage Structure:

The author builds their argument by first establishing a baseline, then presenting a theory, and finally challenging that theory with evidence:

First, the author describes how pre-Incan communities worked, emphasizing that women had equal access to resources and could even hold leadership positions as curacas.
Next, the author presents the scholarly theory that when the Incas conquered these communities, women lost status because the new land grant system favored traditionally masculine activities like military service and government work.
Then, the author introduces counter-evidence suggesting that women's work in Incan society could have given them considerable status, focusing specifically on weaving.
Finally, the author provides detailed research showing that women's weaving was not just economically important but also served as a crucial form of historical record-keeping and communication for entire communities.

Main Point:

Contrary to what scholars have suggested, women likely maintained significant status and authority in Incan society through their essential role as weavers, who served as both economic contributors and the keepers of community history and information.

3. Question Analysis:

This question asks us to identify the primary purpose of the passage - essentially, what the author's main goal was in writing this piece. We need to understand the overall function and structure of the passage, not just its content.

Connecting to Our Passage Analysis:

From our detailed analysis, we can see the passage follows a clear argumentative structure:

Baseline establishment - The author carefully describes pre-Incan communities where women had equal access to resources and could hold leadership positions as curacas
Presentation of scholarly theory - The author introduces the view that "scholars have suggested that with the conquest of these communities by Incas, women were relegated to a lesser status"
Challenge to that theory - The author presents counter-evidence showing that "women's tasks could have afforded them considerable status" in Incan society
Supporting evidence - The author provides detailed research about women's weaving as both economically vital and serving as historical record-keeping

The key insight from our analysis is that the passage structure moves from theory to counter-evidence, with phrases like "scholars have suggested" and "scholars argue" indicating these are viewpoints being examined rather than accepted facts.

Prethinking:

The primary purpose is clearly to challenge or question the scholarly view about women's status declining under Incan rule. The author isn't just comparing views (that would be more neutral) or analyzing new evidence in isolation - they're specifically using evidence to cast doubt on an established scholarly position. The passage structure shows: Here's what scholars think → Here's why that might be wrong → Here's evidence supporting a different conclusion.

Answer Choices Explained

compare scholarly views of the status of women in pre-Incan Andean communities with scholarly views of the status of women in the Incan empire

Why It's Wrong:

The passage doesn't simply compare two sets of scholarly views - it presents one scholarly view and then challenges it with evidence
The comparison is between scholarly theory and actual evidence, not between two competing scholarly opinions
The structure shows the author taking a position rather than neutrally comparing viewpoints

analyse the implications of recently discovered evidence concerning the role of women in the Incan society

Why It's Wrong:

The passage isn't analyzing "recently discovered evidence" - it's using established evidence (like Solari's research) to challenge existing views
The focus isn't on the implications of new evidence but on using existing evidence to question a scholarly position
The temporal aspect ("recently discovered") isn't mentioned or implied in the passage

question the accuracy of a view of the effects of the Incan conquest on the status of women in the conquered communities

Why It's Right:

The passage explicitly presents what "scholars have suggested" and then systematically challenges this view
The structure moves from presenting the scholarly theory to providing counter-evidence
The author uses evidence about women's weaving to argue against the view that women lost status under Incan rule
Key phrases like "Evidence indicates that" directly contrast with "scholars argue"

question the reliability of descriptions of the Inca society by Spanish clerics and conquistadores

Why It's Wrong:

The passage never mentions Spanish clerics or conquistadores
The focus is on modern scholarly interpretations, not historical Spanish accounts
The reliability issue is about scholarly analysis, not about source credibility

present evidence of the significance of women's work in the Incan empire

Why It's Wrong:

While the passage does present evidence about women's work, this serves a larger argumentative purpose
The evidence about weaving is used to challenge the scholarly view, not simply to demonstrate significance
This choice misses the argumentative structure and presents the purpose as purely informational

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Text from Passage

Analysis

In pre-Incan Andean communities, ultimate control over all productive resources was vested in the community.

What it says: In ancient mountain communities before the Incas, the entire community as a group owned and controlled all the valuable things needed for survival and production.

What it does: Sets up the foundational concept - introduces the baseline system we'll be examining.

Source/Type: Historical fact presented by the author.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This is our starting point - no previous context available yet.

Visualization: Think of a mountain village of 200 people where all farmland, water sources, and tools belong to everyone collectively rather than individual families.

What We Know So Far: Pre-Incan communities had collective ownership
What We Don't Know Yet: How this system actually worked in practice, what happened to it later

Reading Strategy Insight: This opening sentence establishes our "baseline" - everything else will show us how this system worked and what changed it.

Membership in the community, based on kinship, provided constituents, both men and women, with access to these resources.

What it says: If you were related to people in the community (family connections), you got to use the community's resources, and this applied equally to men and women.

What it does: Explains HOW the system from sentence 1 actually worked - gives us the mechanism.

Source/Type: Historical fact/explanation.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This directly explains sentence 1! Sentence 1 told us the community controlled resources, now sentence 2 tells us who got to access them and how.

Visualization: In that same 200-person village, if you're born into the Martinez family or marry into the Lopez family, you get to farm the land, use the water, access tools - same rules for men and women.

Reading Strategy Insight: Feel confident here - this isn't new complexity, it's clarification of how the system worked. The key detail: equal access for men and women - this will likely be important later.

The community apportioned land on the basis of household size, and the right to use various lands was passed by inheritance from one generation to the next.

What it says: The community divided up land based on how many people were in each family, and these land-use rights got passed down from parents to children.

What it does: Provides specific details about how land allocation worked within the community system.

Source/Type: Historical fact/mechanism.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This continues building on sentence 2's explanation. We now have the complete picture: community ownership → kinship-based access → land allocated by family size → rights passed down through generations.

Visualization: Family of 2 people gets 5 acres, family of 6 people gets 15 acres. When parents die, children inherit the right to farm those same plots.

Reading Strategy Insight: Still explaining the same system - we're getting deeper detail, not new concepts. The passage is being systematic and clear about how this society worked.

Although women relinquished their portion of land when they married, marriage enabled them to acquire other land and goods essential to establishing a new household.

What it says: When women got married, they gave up their original family land, but marriage allowed them to get different land and other valuable things needed to start their new family.

What it does: Addresses a potential concern about women's status - shows that losing land through marriage wasn't necessarily a disadvantage.

Source/Type: Historical fact about marriage customs.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This builds on the inheritance system from sentence 3 and the equal access principle from sentence 2. It shows that women maintained resource access even when their situation changed through marriage.

Visualization: Maria has rights to 8 acres in her birth family. She marries Carlos and loses those 8 acres, but gains access to 10 acres from Carlos's family plus household tools, animals, etc.

Reading Strategy Insight: The author is being thorough about women's status. Since sentence 2 mentioned equal access, the author anticipates we might worry about marriage affecting this equality, so they clarify it didn't.

In addition, in certain pre-Incan communities, there existed a higher rank of people known as curacas, who were entitled to make a greater claim on the community's resources.

What it says: Some of these communities also had special high-ranking people called curacas who got to claim more of the community's resources than regular people.

What it does: Introduces a hierarchy/exception to the basic community system we've been learning about.

Source/Type: Historical fact about social structure.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This adds a layer to our understanding. The basic system was community ownership with equal access, but some communities also had elite leaders with extra privileges.

Visualization: In our 200-person village, maybe 5-8 people have the special "curaca" status and get access to the best farmland, extra tools, or more livestock than the standard allocation.

What We Know So Far: Pre-Incan communities had collective ownership, kinship-based access, equal gender access, inheritance of land rights, and sometimes special elite classes
What We Don't Know Yet: Whether women could be curacas, what happened when the Incas took over

Reading Strategy Insight: This introduces social complexity but doesn't contradict what we've learned - it adds nuance to the community system.

Records indicate that in some instances women served as curacas, participating in governing councils that made decisions affecting the community as a whole.

What it says: Historical records show that sometimes women held these high-ranking curaca positions and were part of the government councils that made important community decisions.

What it does: Directly answers the implicit question raised by the previous sentence - extends the pattern of gender equality to the highest levels.

Source/Type: Historical evidence ("records indicate").

Connection to Previous Sentences: This perfectly continues the theme of gender equality we've seen throughout. Sentence 2: equal resource access. Sentence 4: women maintained access through marriage. Now: women could reach the highest social positions.

Visualization: In some villages, 2-3 of those 8 curaca leaders were women, and they sat on the council deciding things like resource distribution, community rules, trade agreements.

Reading Strategy Insight: Feel confident - this reinforces rather than complicates our understanding. The passage is systematically showing us that gender equality was a consistent feature at ALL levels of these societies.

Scholars have suggested that with the conquest of these communities by Incas, women were relegated to a lesser status.

What it says: Researchers believe that when the Incas conquered these communities, women lost their equal status and were pushed into inferior positions.

What it does: Introduces the major transition/change that the passage will now examine - sets up a contrast with what we've learned so far.

Source/Type: Scholarly opinion ("scholars have suggested").

Connection to Previous Sentences: This contrasts sharply with everything we've learned about gender equality in pre-Incan society. The passage is setting up a "before vs. after" comparison.

Visualization: Before conquest: Women could be curacas, inherit land, participate in government. After Incan conquest: Women supposedly lost these rights and opportunities.

What We Know So Far: Complete picture of pre-Incan gender equality + scholarly claim about Incan impact
What We Don't Know Yet: Whether this scholarly claim is actually true, what evidence supports or contradicts it

Reading Strategy Insight: The word "suggested" is key - this is a theory, not established fact. The passage is likely setting this up to examine whether it's correct.

It is true that, as the Incan empire expanded, the state needed to ensure the loyalty of a growing bureaucracy, professional class, and military, and thus it began to award these groups various grants of land.

What it says: The Incan empire did indeed grow larger and needed to keep government workers, professionals, and soldiers loyal, so they started giving these groups land as rewards.

What it does: Provides factual context that partially supports the scholars' theory - explains the mechanism that could have reduced women's status.

Source/Type: Historical fact ("it is true that").

Connection to Previous Sentences: This begins to explain WHY the scholars' theory from sentence 7 might be correct. The Incas created a new system of land grants that could have disrupted the old community-based system.

Visualization: Incan government says: "General Rodriguez, for your military service, you get 500 acres. Administrator Martinez, for running this province, you get 300 acres." This land comes from the old community-controlled territories.

Reading Strategy Insight: The passage is being fair - it's acknowledging that there were real changes that COULD have harmed women's status, before examining whether they actually did.

Since the activities that earned grants of land from the state were defined by Incan culture as almost exclusively masculine, the result, scholars argue, should have been a corresponding diminishment of the authority and autonomy of women.

What it says: Because the Incas considered the jobs that earned land rewards (military, government, etc.) to be men's work, scholars think this should have automatically reduced women's power and independence.

What it does: Completes the logical chain of the scholars' argument - shows why the land grant system would specifically hurt women.

Source/Type: Scholarly reasoning/argument.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This completes the theory we started in sentence 7. The logic is: Incas gave land to bureaucrats/military → these jobs were considered masculine → therefore women lost access to land and power.

Visualization: All the land grants go to: male generals, male administrators, male priests. Women can't earn these positions, so they can't get land grants, so their relative status falls compared to men.

Reading Strategy Insight: The phrase "scholars argue" and "should have been" suggests this is still theoretical. The passage has now fully explained the theory but hasn't yet told us if it's correct.

Evidence indicates that, in Incan society, women's tasks could have afforded them considerable status.

What it says: Historical evidence shows that the work women did in Incan society actually could have given them significant importance and respect.

What it does: Begins to challenge/complicate the scholars' theory - suggests women may have maintained status through different means.

Source/Type: Evidence-based counterargument to the scholarly theory.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This directly challenges the conclusion in sentences 7-9. While scholars argue women were "relegated to lesser status," actual evidence suggests they "could have afforded them considerable status."

Visualization: Instead of losing all status, maybe women maintained high status through different activities that were particularly valued in Incan culture.

Reading Strategy Insight: The passage structure is becoming clear: Theory vs. Evidence. Feel confident - we're not getting overwhelmed with complexity, we're seeing a straightforward debate between scholarly theory and actual evidence.

For instance, one of women's main functions in Incan society was that of weaving cloth.

What it says: As an example, one of the most important things women did in Incan society was weave fabric.

What it does: Provides the first specific example of how women could have maintained status - introduces the key activity we'll examine.

Source/Type: Historical fact about gender roles.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This gives us a concrete example of sentence 10's abstract claim. Sentence 10 said women's tasks could afford them status; sentence 11 identifies weaving as one such task.

Visualization: While men might be earning status through military service or administration, women are earning status through their skilled textile work.

Reading Strategy Insight: "For instance" signals that we're about to get concrete evidence rather than abstract theory. This should feel like clarification, not new complexity.

The distribution and exchange of cloth were essential to the empire's economic structure and more important, designs woven into belts, ponchos, and shawls constituted a form of symbolic communication.

What it says: Trading and distributing textiles was crucial to how the Incan economy worked, and even more importantly, the patterns women wove into clothing items served as a kind of symbolic language.

What it does: Explains WHY weaving could afford women status - shows it was both economically and culturally vital.

Source/Type: Historical analysis of cultural/economic importance.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This explains sentence 11's example. It's not just that women wove cloth - their weaving was central to the economy AND served as communication, making it incredibly valuable.

Visualization: Women's textiles are like both the stock market (essential for economic exchange) and the newspaper (carrying important symbolic messages) of the Incan empire.

Reading Strategy Insight: The passage is systematically building the case that weaving gave women significant status. We're getting deeper into the same idea, not jumping to new topics.

Primarily by decoding designs found in modern weavings, designs also found in pre-Columbian Incan material, Gertrude Solari has shown that through these textiles women recorded not only incidents of household life but also the political status of villagers, accounts of critical events, and in some instances even the entire history of a community.

What it says: A researcher named Gertrude Solari studied patterns in both modern and ancient weavings and discovered that through their textiles, women were recording everything from family events to political information to major historical events - sometimes even complete community histories.

What it does: Provides concrete research evidence showing the full scope and importance of women's weaving - demonstrates they were essentially the historians and record-keepers of their communities.

Source/Type: Specific research findings by a named scholar.

Connection to Previous Sentences: This completes the argument that began in sentence 10. We've gone from: women's tasks could afford status → weaving was a main task → weaving was economically and symbolically important → specific evidence shows women were recording crucial historical and political information.

Visualization: Women weren't just making pretty clothes - they were weaving the equivalent of newspapers, government records, and history books all into their textiles. A single shawl might contain the record of a leadership change, a drought year, and three family marriages.

What We Know So Far: Complete argument structure: Pre-Incan gender equality → Scholarly theory of Incan-era decline → Counter-evidence that women maintained high status through weaving (which was economically vital and served as historical record-keeping)

Reading Strategy Insight: This is the climax of the counter-argument. Feel satisfied rather than overwhelmed - the passage has systematically built to this conclusion that women likely maintained significant status in Incan society, contrary to what scholars initially suggested.