CAT 2017 Slot 2 — VARC Question 22

Mixed PracticeEasy

Passage / Data

Answer the following questions based on the information given below.

Despite their fierce reputation, Vikings may not have always been the plunderers and pillagers popular culture imagines them to be. In fact, they got their start trading in northern European markets, researchers suggest.

Combs carved from animal antlers, as well as comb manufacturing waste and raw antler material has turned up at three archaeological sites in Denmark, including a medieval marketplace in the city of Ribe. A team of researchers from Denmark and U.K.hoped to identify the species of animal to which the antlers once belonged by analyzing collagen proteins in the samples and comparing them across the animal kingdom, Laura Geggel reports for liveScience.

Somewhat surprisingly, molecular analysis of the artifacts revealed that some combs and other material had been carved from reindeer antlers…. Given that reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) don’t live in Denmark, the researchers posit that it arrived on Viking ships from Norway. Antler craftsmanship, in the form of decorative combs, was part of Viking culture. Such combs served as symbols of good health, Geggel writes. The fact that the animals shed their antlers also made them easy to collect from the large herds that inhabited Norway.

Since the artifacts were found in marketplace areas at each site it’s more likely that the Norsemen came to trade rather than pillage. Most of the artifacts also date to the 780s, but some are as old as 725. That predates the beginning of Viking raids on great Britain by about 70 years. (Traditionally, the so-called “Viking Age” began with these raids in 793 and ended with Norman conquest of Great Britain in 1066.) Archaeologists had suspected that the Viking had experience with ling maritime voyages [that] might have preceded their raiding days. Beyond Norway, these combs would have been a popular industry in Scandinavia as well. It’s possible that the antler comb’s represent a larger trade network, where the Norsemen supplied raw material to craftsmen in Denmark and elsewhere.

The primary purpose of the passage is:

Answer & solution

Correct answer: to challenge the popular perception of Vikings as raiders by using evidence that suggests their early trade relations with Europe.

A
to explain the presence of reindeer antler combs in Denmark.
B
to contradict the widely-accepted beginning date for the Viking Age in Britain, and propose an alternate one.
to challenge the popular perception of Vikings as raiders by using evidence that suggests their early trade relations with Europe.
D
to argue that besides being violent pillagers, Vikings were also skilled craftsmen and efficient traders.

Solution

Easy

A primary-purpose question. The passage opens with its thesis: "Despite their fierce reputation, Vikings may not have always been the plunderers…they got their start trading." Everything after — the antler combs, the dates — is evidence for that revised view. Pick the option matching this overall aim, not a supporting detail.

Explain presence of reindeer combs in Denmark. The combs are evidence, not the purpose. Mistakes a supporting detail for the main aim. Incorrect.

Contradict the Viking-Age start date and propose a new one. The 793 date is mentioned in passing; the passage does not argue the date itself should change. Too narrow and not the thesis. Incorrect.

Challenge the perception of Vikings as raiders using evidence of early trade. This restates the opening thesis exactly — the whole passage marshals comb evidence to show Vikings traded before they raided. Correct.

Argue Vikings were also craftsmen and efficient traders. This keeps "violent pillagers" as a given and merely adds traits; the passage instead questions the pillager reputation itself. Subtly off the main thrust. Incorrect.

Option 3 — the passage challenges the popular raider image using evidence of early Viking trade with Europe.

CAT 2017 Slot 2 — VARC Question 22

Answer & solution

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