RC 2 - OCT 29

Investigations of the bog people, bodies from the Iron Age which were
naturally preserved in sphagnum bogs, have revealed much about their
diet and probable causes of death. The special conditions in the bogs
kept the skin and internal organs of the bodies intact, allowing
modern scientists to collect data from the remains of food in their
stomachs and draw conclusions from the condition of their bodies
immediately before death.

The Grauballe man, named after the area in which he was found, had an
unusually large amount of food in his stomach, food which must have
been consumed immediately before death. The bad state of his teeth
suggested that the man had not lived exclusively on the type of
vegetable diet that this meal represented. It consisted of a gruel
even more mixed in its seed content than the gruel eaten by the
Tollund man, another well-known find from the bogs. Many small bone
fragments and some mammalian hairs were also found in the stomach,
indicating that the soup or gruel had also contained meat.

No trace was found of summer or autumn fruits in the last meals of
either the Grauballe or Tollund man and there are thus grounds for
thinking that both men met their deaths in winter or early spring, the
season in which human sacrifices were made in order to hasten the
coming of spring. This assertion is supported by the fact that the bog
people obviously enjoyed good nutrition and had well groomed bodies,
clearly marking them as part of the upper class.

The manner of death of many of the bodies seems to support the idea
that the bog people were human sacrifices, although it is impossible
to make any conclusive statements. Some bodies were found with the
ropes used to strangle them still hanging around their necks, while
other bodies had deep cuts and head wounds, possibly signs of torture.
However, these manners of death do not point exclusively to human
sacrifice, as similar methods were probably used for executing
criminals.

1. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the assertion
that the bog people were human sacrifices?

A) Human sacrifices in the Iron Age were habitually given lavish food
and well cared for in the months before their executions.
B) In the Iron Age, it was considered unmanly for a wealthy man to
groom his body.
C) According to Iron Age belief systems, the deliberate killing of a
notable member of society incurred the wrath of the gods.
D) Iron Age tribes sacrificed people from other tribes rather than
from their own
E) Iron Age people believed that gods were capricious beings to be
assuaged by lavish gifts.




2.If the bog people were indeed human sacrifices, what may be inferred
from the state of the Grauballe man's teeth?
A) Human sacrifices were abused before they were killed.
B) Iron Age people had an abundance of meat.
C) Until their last meal, human sacrifices were fed only meat.
D) Human sacrifices were fed badly by their executioners.
E) Human sacrifices were given a special meal immediately before they
were killed

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3.The purpose of the first paragraph is to
A) ask a question to be answered
B) present two aspects of bog people to be investigated
C) reveal information about Iron Age people
D) make a scientific claim to be proved
E) elaborate on modern scientific techniques




4.The author of the passage would be most likely to describe the
knowledge gained from studying the bog people as
A) difficult to corroborate
B) interesting but of limited scientific value
C) confirming earlier finds
D) useful but incomplete
E) opening avenues for future research




5.The author mentions that "there are thus grounds for thinking that
both men met their deaths in winter or early spring" in order to do
which of the following?

A. make clear that the author's point of view is a theory and not fact
B. indicate that scientists can only guess when the bog people died
C. compare the Tollund man and the Grauballe man
D. cast doubt on the assertion made later in the paragraph
E. offer an explanation for the unusual contents in the Grauballe
man's and Tollund man's stomachs




6.One function of the third paragraph is to

A. present a theory which is questioned by information in the fourth paragraph
B. draw a conclusion based on information in the second paragraph
C. promote a hypothesis which the fourth paragraph proves
D. analyze the information presented in the second paragraph
E. introduce a theory which is discussed further in the fourth paragraph