The myth persists that in 1492 the Western Hemisphere was an untamed wilderness and that it was European settlers who harnessed and transformed its ecosystems. ███ ███████████ █████ ████ ████████ ██ ███████████ ███ ████ ███████ ██ ███████ ███████ ████ ██████ ███ ███████ ██ ██████████ ██████ ███████████ ███ █████████ ████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ████████████ ██████████ ███████ ██████████ ██ █████ ██ ████████ ███
Intro topic ·Misconception that Europeans were the first to tame wilderness
In fact, Native Americans altered the forest before Europeans.
Additional Support ·Nicaraguan pine forests today grow in areas that were burned
This probably also happened in the past. Pine forests were found only where there were Native American settlements. When the settlements left, the pine forests disappeared.
Passage Style
Critique or debate
4.
Which one of the following ██ █████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ████████ ██ ██████████ ███████ ██ ███ ███████ ██████ ███ ███████ ██ ██████████
Question Type
Stated
This Stated question asks for evidence of pre-European controlled burning in the tropics. We know that controlled burning in the tropics is discussed in P3.
a
extensive homogeneous forests ██ ████ █████████
Actually, the extensive homogeneous high elevation pine forests in Guatemala and Mexico are cited as an example of natural, prehuman forests, so the author does not claim that these forests were a result of controlled burning.
9%
b
extensive homogeneous forests ██ ███ █████████
This is the evidence of controlled burning in the tropics before the arrival of Europeans. These are the pine-dominant forests of Nicaragua (which are lower in elevation than the pine-dominant forests of Guatemala and Mexico). These homogenous pine-dominant forests were present when Europeans arrived and they are found where there has been regular burning.
69%
c
extensive heterogeneous forests ██ ████ █████████
The passage doesn’t mention extensive heterogeneous high elevation forests, so this isn’t the evidence that we’re looking for.
3%
d
extensive heterogeneous forests ██ ███ █████████
This is what is expected of natural forests (which we know because burning converts heterogeneous forests to homogenous forests), so this wouldn’t be evidence of controlled burning.
The author cites sedimentary charcoal accumulations, but this is evidence from the northeastern United States, while this question is asking for evidence from the tropics.
13%
Answer five questions and we'll estimate your score.
Critique or debate passages contain multiple points of view on a particular subject. Sometimes the author takes sides and participates in the critique or debate, other times the author merely reports the debate.
