Question

on a cold winter’s day in 1980, a group of recreational cavers entered a narrow, wet stream passage south of knoxville, tennessee. they navigated a slippery mud slope and a tight keyhole through the cave wall, trudged through the stream itself, ducked through another keyhole, and climbed more mud. eventually, they entered a high and relatively dry passage deep in the cave’s “dark zone” – beyond the reach of external light. on the walls around them, they began to see lines and figures traced into remnant mud banks laid down long ago when the stream flowed at this higher level. no modern or historic graffiti marred the surfaces. they saw images of animals, people, and transformational characters blending human characteristics with those of birds, and those of snakes with mammals. ancient cave art has long been one of the most compelling of all artifacts from the human past, fascinating both to scientists and to the public at large. its visual expressions resonate across the ages, as if the ancients speak to us from deep in time. remarkably, this group of cavers in 1980 had happened upon the first ancient cave art site in north america. since then, archaeologists like me have discovered dozens more of these cave art sites in the southeast. we’ve been able to learn details about when cave art first appeared in the region, when it was most frequently produced, and what it might have been used for. we have also learned a great deal by working with the living descendants of the cave art makers, the present-day native american peoples of the southeast, about what the cave art means and how important it was and is to indigenous communities.
assessment questions
question 21
what is the meaning of “incognizant of” in paragraph 18?
a. unaware of
b. skeptical of
c. indifferent to
d. careful about

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "incognizant of", we analyze the context (though the full paragraph 18 isn't shown, we can use typical usage and option analysis). "Unaware of" means not having knowledge of something, which fits the idea of being incognizant (lacking awareness). "Skeptical of" is doubt, "indifferent to" is not caring, and "careful about" is being cautious—these don't match "incognizant of".

Answer:

A. unaware of