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.

cave art in america?

... made their own discovery, the world’s first modern discovery

assessment questions

1 ... 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ... 34

19 out of 34 answered

question 20

paragraph 16 contributes to the development of ideas in the article by describing –

a. how cherokee experts worked with non-native archaeologists to identify new dark zone caves.

b. why cherokee experts disagree with non-native archeologists’ translations of cave writing.

c. what cherokee experts and non-native archeologists have learned through collaboration.

d. how cherokee experts and non-native archaeologist have identified changes in cave art following contact with europeans.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The paragraph doesn't talk about identifying new dark - zone caves through Cherokee - non - native archaeologist collaboration.
• Option B: There is no mention of disagreement over translations of cave writing.
• Option C: The relevant part of the passage (the part before the question, likely paragraph 16 which we can infer from the context) says that archaeologists (including non - native ones) and the living descendants (Cherokee experts or related) worked together to learn about when cave art appeared, its production frequency, its use, and its meaning to indigenous communities. This matches what option C describes.
• Option D: The paragraph does not discuss changes in cave art after contact with Europeans.

Answer:

C. what Cherokee experts and non - native archeologists have learned through collaboration.