Question

according to source 10, why are surrounding agricultural lands essential to establishing cities?
cooperative farming allowed farmers to devote more time to searching for obsidian.
better use of farmland means merchants have a wider area to trade over.
more food production could increase the population size of the total urban area.
farming caused a wider range of goods and services to become available for citizens.

Explanation:

To determine why surrounding agricultural lands are essential for establishing cities, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Cooperative farming and obsidian search are not directly related to city establishment via agriculture.
• Option 2: Better farmland use for merchants' trade doesn't directly explain city establishment.
• Option 3: More food production from agriculture can support a larger urban population, which is crucial for city establishment as cities need a food supply to sustain residents.
• Option 4: A wider range of goods from farming is a result, but the primary need for city establishment is food to support population, so this is a secondary effect.

So the best reason is that more food production could increase the urban area's population size.

Answer:

C. More food production could increase the population size of the total urban area