Rethinking the Past — IELTS Reading Answers

What is the writer doing in the second paragraph?

1. Apinpointing some key changes in our understanding of prehistorycorrect
2. Boutlining some aspects of prehistory which are still poorly understood
3. Csummarising some attitudes towards recent archaeological revelations
4. Dgiving an overview of some current disagreements among archaeologists

“Two things stand out to me. One is the growing evidence that many supposedly 'advanced' behaviours, such as architecture and art, can be traced much further back in time than we thought, often to hominin species that existed before modern humans.”

The second paragraph presents two findings: advanced behaviours are older than assumed, and gender roles have been misread.

In the sixth paragraph, the writer mentions mobile phones to make the point that

1. Amost developments happen in a gradual way.correct
2. Binnovation can come from a variety of sources.
3. Cnot all technological advancements are positive.
4. Dthe path of evolution can often be unpredictable.

“Evolution usually works by incremental steps and so does technology. The first birds weren't great at flying, and the first mobile phones weren't great at, well, anything really”

Mobile phones illustrate that early technology, like the first birds at flying, improves in incremental steps.

In the seventh paragraph, the phrase 'unpick this stuff' refers to the task of

1. Aassessing the impact of certain recent research findings.
2. Bquestioning the authenticity of evidence used in earlier research.
3. Cconducting research into how prehistoric societies were organised.
4. Dreevaluating research influenced by outdated beliefs about society.correct

“Archaeology was invented by individuals with now unfashionably patriarchal views about gender, and those notions fed into their research. Today's researchers are trying to unpick this stuff, and there have been some significant steps in recent years”

'Unpick this stuff' refers to dismantling the patriarchal assumptions that shaped early archaeology.

What does the writer suggest in the final paragraph?

1. AStudying past societies could help us create a fairer society today.correct
2. BWe should not judge past societies by the standards of modern society.
3. CWe still have much to learn about how societies have evolved over history.
4. DThere is more than one way to interpret evidence about societies in prehistoric times.

“Inequality, authoritarianism and patriarchy aren't inevitable. They're choices, and prehistory shows us that we can choose differently”

The final paragraph says inequality, authoritarianism and patriarchy are 'choices', not inevitable.

The findings at Kalambo Falls revealed that

“At Kalambo Falls in Zambia, researchers found buried logs that had been shaped with stone tools so that they interlocked. They seem to have once been part of a larger structure, perhaps a building. This would be unsurprising if they weren't 476,000 years old.”

The Kalambo Falls logs were shaped with stone tools to interlock 476,000 years ago, implying a built structure.

Evidence from high-altitude regions suggests that

“For instance, we now know that extinct hominins such as the Denisovans lived on the frozen heights of high-altitude regions 200,000 years ago - upending the old notion that such environments were only settled by modern humans around 3,600 years ago”

Denisovans lived at high altitude 200,000 years ago, overturning the old timeline for settling such regions.

An academic publication from June 2023 shows that

“This was the idea, promoted for decades, that in most prehistoric societies the men went out to hunt and the women looked after the home. However,”

The June 2023 meta-analysis found that women hunted in 80% of the foraging societies studied.

Analysis of a 4000-year-old Iberian leader indicates that

“Going further back, an Iberian leader from around 4000 years ago turned out to be female, not male as many had assumed, when proteins in her teeth were analysed”

Protein analysis of the Iberian leader's teeth showed she was female, not male as assumed.

It seems likely that the Neanderthals' cave paintings were the first examples of artwork ever created.

“Even earlier species, such as Homo erectus, may also have made art, for example by engraving patterns on shells”

NO: the passage says even earlier species may have made art, so Neanderthal paintings cannot be assumed to be the first.

It is very rare to find prehistoric artwork carved onto shells.

“Even earlier species, such as Homo erectus, may also have made art, for example by engraving patterns on shells”

NOT GIVEN: shell engravings are mentioned, but their rarity is never discussed.

The methods which the researchers used to examine the Rising Star cave system were rather unconventional.

“The dispute has only been heightened by the way the results were released, in a non-traditional journal that publishes peer reviews publicly alongside the paper”

NOT GIVEN: the review process is described as non-traditional, not the methods used to examine the cave.

It is unclear how old the etchings in the Rising Star cave system are.

“Nevertheless, in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa where the H. naledi remains were found, researchers have found what seem to be etchings - resembling rudimentary artwork - on the cave walls, though these have yet to be firmly dated”

YES: the etchings 'have yet to be firmly dated', so their age is unclear.

The means used to publicise the findings from the Rising Star cave system added to the controversy that surrounds them.

“The dispute has only been heightened by the way the results were released, in a non-traditional journal that publishes peer reviews publicly alongside the paper”

YES: the non-traditional release of the results 'heightened' the dispute.

The size of H. naledi brains is a key factor in the question of whether these hominins were able to produce art.

“At the same time, I think the species' small brains are a distraction”

NO: the writer says the species' small brains are 'a distraction'.