Pigments give paints and dyes their color. Ochre is a mineral-based pigment used to make several colors, including red. Red ochre gets its color from iron oxide. Pigments can also be plant-based; plant-based pigments contain a high level of carbon. In a 2023 study, archaeologists tested the red pigment on decorated beads made by members of the Natufian culture approximately 15,000 years ago. The test showed that the pigment found on several beads contained tiny iron but had a high level of carbon. This finding led the researchers to conclude that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Explanation
Context: Pigments color paints and dyes. Mineral-based red ochre gets its color from iron oxide, while plant-based pigments instead contain a high level of carbon. In a 2023 study, archaeologists tested red pigment on 15,000-year-old Natufian decorated beads and found that the pigment on several beads had only tiny amounts of iron but a high level of carbon. The blank asks what this combination indicates about those beads' pigment.
Answer: A) the Natufian beadmakers used plant-based pigments rather than ochre to decorate some of the beads examined in the study.
Why? Tiny iron + high carbon = plant-based, not ochre. A correctly identifies the pigment type based on the passage's criteria.
Traps:
- B) beadmakers preferred plant-based pigments → "preferred" overstates; only some beads showed this
- C) pigments came from a specific geographic source → origin location not addressed
- D) beads are the oldest surviving examples → an age claim not supported