Wampum

Answer choices

1. A

   Contradicted24% picked this

   The Haudenosaune's use of wampum originated with combinations of strings of beads with religious significance, but the need for communication between nations led to

   Wampum didn't originate with combinations of strings of beads. As the beginning of the 2nd paragraph tells us, "loose beads constituted the simplest and oldest form of wampum". The rest of this answer has an appealing feel, since it captures the development from simpler/religious to more complex/political.

   24%
2. B

   Correct66% picked this

   For the Haudenosaune, wampum did not originally serve as a form of money but as an evolving form of communication that, through the use

   Why this is right

   This answer addresses the misconception that began the passage (wampum = money), which captures the part of the thesis sentence that sounds like, "No, no no. The true significance of wampum was ...." This answer talks about wampum being an "evolving" form communication, which matches nicely with the thesis. "The true significance lies in its gradual development". The answer ends with "eventually encoded the provisions of the constitution", which is the thrust of paragraph 3.

   Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   66%
3. C

   Too Strong: exclusively commercial Wrong Emphasis1% picked this

   Wampum's significance for the Haudenosaune—as a form of communication linking their traditions with the need for the sharing of information within the confederacy—was changed

   The passage did say in the third sentence that "due to the Europeans, wampum did become a medium of exchange". But it also said that Europeans misunderstood the significance of wampum, and so to them it was exclusively a medium of exchange. But to the Haudenosaune, it was much more than just money. In fact the main point of the passage is showing us the non-monetary significance that wampum had. The author brings up Europeans to shoot down their misconception, not because the main point of the passage is that "Europeans transformed wampum from religious and political into only being money."

   1%
4. D

   Wrong Emphasis Contradicted2% picked this

   There is substantial evidence that the Haudenosaune's use of wampum as a medium of communication based on color combinations had its origin in the

   This answer is putting too much emphasis on the beginning of the 3rd paragraph. The political events leading to belt wampum encoding the constitution is not the origin of wampum as a medium of communication. By the end of the 2nd paragraph, wampum is being used as a medium of communication in two different ways: -- "anglers threw beads into the water to communicate with Sapling or Flint" -- "string wampum was used to send simple political messages such as truce requests"

   2%
5. E

   Wrong Emphasis7% picked this

   Because of the role played by wampum in relations between the Haudenosaune and Europeans, many historians have overlooked the communicative role that bead combinations

   This passage was more about telling us how wampum developed, whereas this answer casts the passage as mainly an attack on many historians. The misconception by historians that wampum was primarily money set the stage for the rest of the passage, but we want the main clause of our main point answer to sound like the main emphasis of the passage. If we re-wrote this answer choice to reallocate its parts, we could make it more tempting: Although many historians have overemphasized the role played by wampum in relations between the Haudenosaune and Europeans, bead combinations of wampum played a communicative role in Haudensosaune culture prior to contact with Europeans.

   7%