SAT test writers have a strong interest in the work of paleoanthropologists who analyze the remains of fossilized skeletons to study human evolution. The Paleoanthropologist Cluster of vocabulary in context questions reflects this interest while also testing a significant group of key vocabulary words. Let’s take a look!
Each question in this cluster identifies a specific fossil. Although the passage identifies the fossil’s location and date of discovery, this information is irrelevant to correctly answering the question. Instead, the key to finding the correct answer is to realize that prior to the discovery of fossilized evidence, scientific knowledge of the lives of prehistoric hominids was NEBULOUS or unclear and AMBIGUOUS or open to many interpretations.
NEBULOUS and AMBIGUOUS are the key answers to questions focusing on what our knowledge was like BEFORE the discovery of new fossilized evidence. Another group of questions focus on the consequences of these discoveries. As you can imagine, the fossilized remains of Misliya 1, LD 350-1, and Denisova 8 will help paleoanthropologists better DISCERN or perceive steps in the evolution of hominids. As a result, they help ILLUMINATE or clarify important details about the epoch in which these prehistoric hominids lived.
NEBULOUS – unclear and vague
AMBIGUOUS – open to more than one interpretation
DISCERN – able to recognize and perceive
ILLUMINATE – clarify and explain; reveal