The passage indicates that prior to the use of pollen analysis in the study of the history of the Irish landscape, at...

Annie on October 14, 2019

Hi @Maonuo,

This question is difficult given the length of the passage. They are testing your recall and your ability to remember what you've read when you turn to the question stem. The question asks what historians believed prior to the use of pollen analysis, therefore the correct answer must refer to a section of the passage which involved historian's beliefs. Historians are mentioned only twice in the passage, at line 26 and at line 42.

At line 26-29, the passage states "Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the introduction of the moldboard plough to Ireland in the seventh century AD."

At line 39-44, the passage states "The record of eighteenth-century linen production in Down, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in Ireland centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated in Down before the eighteenth century."

Thus, you're looking for an answer that either deals with soils being tilled and the moldboard plough or an answer that deals with flax cultivation. Answer choice E is the only one which touches on either topic, and is correct.

Annie on October 14, 2019

Hi @Maonuo,

This question is difficult given the length of the passage. They are testing your recall and your ability to remember what you've read when you turn to the question stem. The question asks what historians believed prior to the use of pollen analysis, therefore the correct answer must refer to a section of the passage which involved historian's beliefs. Historians are mentioned only twice in the passage, at line 26 and at line 42.

At line 26-29, the passage states "Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the introduction of the moldboard plough to Ireland in the seventh century AD."

At line 39-44, the passage states "The record of eighteenth-century linen production in Down, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in Ireland centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated in Down before the eighteenth century."

Thus, you're looking for an answer that either deals with soils being tilled and the moldboard plough or an answer that deals with flax cultivation. Answer choice E is the only one which touches on either topic, and is correct.