CAT 2017 Slot 2 — VARC Question 24
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.
All of the following hold true for Vikings EXCEPT
Answer & solution
Vikings brought reindeer from Norway to Denmark for trade purposes.
- B
Before becoming the raiders of northern Europe, Vikings had trade relations with European nations.
- C
Antler combs, regarded by the Vikings as a symbol of good health, were part of the Viking culture.
- D
Vikings, once upon a time, had trade relations with Denmark and Scandinavia.
Option 1 is not true about the Vikings and is therefore, correct. Vikings are said to have carried reindeer antlers and other comb-making material from Norway to Denmark. The passage states: “Combs carved from animal antlers, as well as comb manufacturing waste and raw antler material has turned up at three archaeological sites in Denmark….” Later in the passage it is also mentioned that: “The fact that the animals shed their antlers also made them easy to collect from the large herds that inhabited Norway.” Thus, it is clear that reindeer antlers and not reindeers were brought by Vikings from Norway, to Denmark. Retain option 1. Option 2 is incorrect. It is true that the Vikings had trade relations with European nations before raiding Northern Europe. Therefore option 2 is not an exception. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. The writer states: “Antler craftsmanship, in the form of decorative combs, was part of Viking culture. Such combs served as symbols of good health…” Option 3 is not an exception. Eliminate option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. The writer states: “Beyond Norway, these combs would have been a popular industry in Scandinavia as well.” Option 4 is true about Vikings and is therefore an incorrect option. Eliminate option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.