SAT question 35ec767c (Command Of Evidence)

Question

In Caddo, a language from what is now the US Southeast, vocabulary pertaining to corn cultivation resembles equivalent vocabulary in the Totozoquean language family in Mexico. This resemblance is perhaps attributable to cultural contact: such words could have entered Caddo through the intermediary of the neighboring but unrelated Chitimacha language, concurrent with the dissemination of corn itself from Mexico into the Southeast after 700 CE. That the vocabulary pertaining to domestic crops accompanies them as they diffuse into new regions is an established phenomenon globally. Crops may also be decoupled from vocabulary altogether: corn cultivation became ubiquitous among the Southeastern tribes, yet Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

College Board · Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A. Choice A is the best answer. The table provides evidence that the words for corn in the Cherokee and Muskogean languages appear unrelated to those in Caddo language, which is described as closely related to the Totozoquean language family. This supports the claim that corn cultivation spread across the Southeast without necessarily spreading Totozoquean vocabulary along with it.

Corn-Related Vocabulary in Various Southeastern Languages
Language family	Word (language)	English translation	Proposed origin in vocabulary of the Totozoquean language family
Muskogean	tanchi’ (Chickasaw); tanchi (Choctaw); vce (Muscogee, pronounced “uh-chi”)	corn	no
Iroquoian	se-lu (Cherokee)	corn	no
Caddoan	-k’as- (Caddo)	dried corn	yes
Chitimacha	k’asma (Chitimacha)	corn	yes

Explanation

Why the other choices are wrong

SAT Question 35ec767c: Command Of Evidence answer and explanation

Explanation

Why the other choices are wrong