SAT Reading: 'Which Finding Would Most Strongly Support Dr. Mensah's Claim?' (Lake Bosumtwi Sediment)

Exact Passage & Question Stem

Anthropologist Dr. Kwame Mensah investigated whether the widespread adoption of iron smelting technology in West Africa during the first millennium BCE led directly to regional deforestation. Mensah's team analyzed sediment core samples from Lake Bosumtwi, measuring micro-charcoal particle concentrations alongside fossil pollen ratios of arboreal (forest) versus non-arboreal (grassland) species. Mensah claims that iron smelting had a minimal impact on local forest cover and that climatic aridification was the true driver of vegetative changes.

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Which finding from the sediment core analysis, if true, would most strongly SUPPORT Dr. Mensah's claim?

- A) Micro-charcoal spikes occurred centuries prior to any noticeable decline in arboreal pollen concentrations.

- B) Spikes in micro-charcoal particles coincided with rapid, simultaneous declines in arboreal pollen.

- C) Declines in arboreal pollen concentrations occurred during periods of severe drought before any significant accumulation of micro-charcoal particles from smelting.

- D) Areas with the highest density of iron smelting furnaces retained denser tree canopy cover.

Logic Proof

• Mensah's Claim: Drought/climate caused deforestation, NOT iron smelting.
• Choice C demonstrates that deforestation happened before smelting charcoal accumulated, proving smelting could not be the cause.
• Correct Answer: C