Explanation
Correct answer: A.
Choice A is the best answer because it presents a statement about Veronica Waweru’s thinking that is supported by the text. The text begins by discussing Waweru’s discovery of evidence that ancient versions of the board game mancala had been played at a site in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The evidence consisted of many rows of shallow pits carved into stone. The text goes on to state that some newer pits were carved on top of older pits, suggesting that people may have continued to play the game there over multiple generations, creating new pits over time. The text then explicitly states that the presence of newer pits carved on top of older pits was precisely what caused Waweru to think that mancala had been played at the site for a long time.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect. While the text does state that Waweru "noticed many rows of shallow pits carved into stone," this observation led her to believe that the pits could have been used as game boards for ancient versions of mancala but did not specifically suggest to her that the game had been played at the site for a long time. The multiple rows of pits merely suggest that these pits functioned as part of a game board; they don’t necessarily indicate how long the site had been used for that purpose. Rather, it was the fact that there appeared to be newer pits carved on top of older pits that led Waweru to think that mancala had been played at the site for a long time.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect. Although the text states that Waweru found the pits at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, this isn’t the reason the text gives for why she thought that mancala had been played at the site for a long time. The location of the discovery only provides information about where the game was played, not how long the game had been played there.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t mention any variation in the depth of the pits. The text only describes the pits collectively as shallow and doesn’t indicate that the depth of the pits factored into Waweru’s thinking about how long the site had been used for playing mancala.