The following text is about archaeology.
Göbekli Tepe, a site in Turkey dating to around 9500 BCE, challenged long-held assumptions about prehistoric societies. The massive stone structures predate agriculture, suggesting that hunter-gatherers—not settled farming communities—built them. This discovery reversed the assumed sequence: rather than agriculture creating surplus that enabled monument building, perhaps shared construction projects motivated people to settle and develop agriculture. The site demonstrates that prehistoric humans were more sophisticated and their societies more complex than scholars previously imagined.
How did Göbekli Tepe change understanding of prehistoric development?
It proved that only agricultural societies could build monuments
It suggested monument building might have preceded and motivated agriculture
It showed that prehistoric humans lacked social organization
It had little impact on archaeological theory
Correct Answer: B
Choice B is the correct answer. The text states the structures predate agriculture and that "perhaps shared construction projects motivated people to settle and develop agriculture"—reversing the assumed sequence.
- Evidence: Monuments before agriculture; construction may have motivated settling.
- Reasoning: The causal direction was reversed.
- Conclusion: Building projects may have driven agricultural development.
Choice A is incorrect because the text disproves this. Choice C is incorrect because the site shows sophisticated organization. Choice D is incorrect because it "challenged long-held assumptions."