Artistic and Cultural Patrimony in Mali

Answer choices

1. A

   Wrong Emphasis: where's the Solution?6% picked this

   Declarations from UNESCO and other international bodies concerning the ownership of cultural artifacts gave rise to a doctrine based on the notion

   The main clause of this answer is, Declarations from UNESCO gave rise to a doctrine based on the notion of artistic and cultural patrimony. We need to either here something like, "Here's what UNESCO and Mali should have done, or here's what we should do next time we have a situation like what happened in Mali". This is just a boring causal fact that "their declaration gave rise to a doctrine".

   6%
2. B

   Correct77% picked this

   Preserving cultural knowledge at sites like Djenne-jeno requires solutions that are more flexible than simply passing laws prohibiting the

   Why this is right

   The main clause of this sounds like the author's recommendation about how we handle situations like the Mali one in the future: Preserving knowledge at sites like DJ requires solutions that are more flexible than simply passing laws prohibiting excavation and export. This answer feels a little lacking because the author DID actually lay out a more specific roadmap for what such a solution might look like, whereas this answer only refers to that solution in vague terms as "more flexible". But otherwise this matches up. The Problem with the way that handled the terra-cotta situation is that by outright prohibiting non-professional excavation and export, they encouraged a black market where people illegally and secretly excavated and exported. This was the worst case scenario, because not only did Mali lose its cultural property, but science lots its ability to study and catalogue these statues that were stolen "in the dark of night". The better path that the author is recommending in the final paragraph is one in which the government and UNESCO recognize that nonprofessionals are going to dig these things out anyway, so let's find a way for them to do so in a way where the host government can benefit (via tax revenue) and where science can benefit (via a chance to keep accurate records of each unearthed statue).

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

   77%
3. C

   Too Strong: unique Contradicted4% picked this

   Rather than acceding to the dictates of international bodies, countries like Mali must find their own unique solutions to problems concerning

   This is appealing in the sense that it is providing a Solution / Takeaway to this Problematic situation in Mali. But the solution does not resemble what the author says in the final paragraph. The author is encouraging UNESCO (the international body) to help countries like Mali in their efforts to license excavations and spread the word that, "You can dig these up; but it's important that you dig them up in the right way". There is also a very extreme tilt to saying, "Each country must come up with its own unique solution", when the author's advice in the final paragraph seems like general advice that any country could follow.

   4%
4. D

   Too Strong: only Contradicted5% picked this

   The government of Mali should have exercised its trusteeship of the Djenne-jeno terra-cotta sculptures by licensing only accredited

   In the author's final paragraph, where she traces out her Solution, she acknowledges that in following her methodology, the excavations encouraged by such a system may have been less well conducted and less informative than proper, professionally administered excavations by accredited archaeologists. She is saying that, "rather than forbidding anyone but accredited archaeologists from excavating these statues, it would have been better to let the un-accredited, less professional people still do excavations, as long as they paid a tax to export the statue and allowed local scientists to document the statue that was unearthed."

   5%
5. E

   Wrong Emphasis: unrelated to Solution7% picked this

   The idea that a culture's artistic and cultural patrimony is the property of the state does more harm than

   The main clause here is, "The idea that stuff found in a country is the property of that country does more harm than good". That sounds nothing like, "Here's what Mali should have done in regards to the terra-cotta sculptures" or "here's what countries like Mali should do if they're in a situation like the one with the terra-cotta sculptures".

   7%