Carved stone balls are a curious type of artifact found at a number of locations in Scotland. They date from the late Neolithic period, around 4,000 years ago. They are round in shape; they were carved from several types of stone; most are about 70 mm in diameter; and many are ornamented to some degree. Archaeologists do not agree about their purpose and meaning, but there are several theories.
One theory is that the carved stone balls were weapons used in hunting or fighting. Some of the stone balls have been found with holes in them, and many have grooves on the surface. It is possible that a cord was strung through the holes or laid in the grooves around the ball. Holding the stone balls at the end of the cord would have allowed a person to swing it around or throw it.
A second theory is that the carved stone balls were used as part of a primitive system of weights and measures. The fact that they are so nearly uniform in size – at 70 mm in diameter – suggests that the balls were interchangeable and represented some standard unit of measure. They could have been used as standard weights to measure quantities of grain or other food, or anything that needed to be measured by weight on a balance or scale for the purpose of trade.
A third theory is that the carved stone balls served a social purpose as opposed to a practical or utilitarian one. This view is supported by the fact that many stone balls have elaborate designs. The elaborate carving suggests that the stones may have marked the important social status of their owners.
The reading and lecture discuss carved stone balls found in Scotland dated the late Neolithic period. The article states three theories to describe the purpose and uses of stone balls- The hunting theory, measuring theory, and social status theory. However, the lecturer refutes all the three theories and claims that they are unconvincing by presenting counter-arguments for each of the assertions.
To begin with, the professor points out that, if stone balls had been used as a weapon for hunting or fighting, it must have signs of wear. She elaborates this point by arguing that the primitive neolithic weapons like arrowhead or handcuffs had marks of wear due to constant use. In contrast, the stone balls identified in Scotland had no marks of wear or cracks. On top of that its surface is round and polished. This point disproves that main point in the reading passage which suggests the holes inside the balls can be used with cords to swing it around and throw while hunting or fighting.
Next, the theory that carved stone balls were used as a weight or measure as they have a uniform size of 70mm in diameter is contradicted by the professor by contending the stone balls have different masses since they are derived from different stones. She added that Sandstone, Greenstone, Cortlite were some of the stones used for the manufacture of these stone balls but had different densities. Therefore, the theory that the stones had been used as a unit of standardized measure is precisely challenged by the tutor.
Finally, the professor rejects that final theory of use as a social marker by illustrating a couple of facts. First, some of the carved stones have intricated patterns whereas others had simple carving suggesting that they are not used as a status symbol of reputation. Second, the Neolithic elites had been buried with their possessions. But none of the stone balls are excavated from the tombs of the owners. Thus, the professor clearly argues that this theory is unconvincing.
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 5, column 306, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
...at Sandstone, Greenstone, Cortlite were some of the stones used for the manufacture of thes...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 7, column 118, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
... illustrating a couple of facts. First, some of the carved stones have intricated patterns ...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, finally, first, however, if, second, so, therefore, thus, whereas, while, in contrast, to begin with, on top of that
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 14.0 10.4613686534 134% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 2.0 5.04856512141 40% => OK
Conjunction : 13.0 7.30242825607 178% => OK
Relative clauses : 12.0 12.0772626932 99% => OK
Pronoun: 25.0 22.412803532 112% => OK
Preposition: 42.0 30.3222958057 139% => OK
Nominalization: 1.0 5.01324503311 20% => More nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1678.0 1373.03311258 122% => OK
No of words: 335.0 270.72406181 124% => OK
Chars per words: 5.00895522388 5.08290768461 99% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.27820116611 4.04702891845 106% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.63650537925 2.5805825403 102% => OK
Unique words: 173.0 145.348785872 119% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.516417910448 0.540411800872 96% => OK
syllable_count: 505.8 419.366225166 121% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.55342163355 97% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 4.0 3.25607064018 123% => OK
Article: 10.0 8.23620309051 121% => OK
Subordination: 1.0 1.25165562914 80% => OK
Conjunction: 2.0 1.51434878587 132% => OK
Preposition: 3.0 2.5761589404 116% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 16.0 13.0662251656 122% => OK
Sentence length: 20.0 21.2450331126 94% => OK
Sentence length SD: 49.980582167 49.2860985944 101% => OK
Chars per sentence: 104.875 110.228320801 95% => OK
Words per sentence: 20.9375 21.698381199 96% => OK
Discourse Markers: 7.5625 7.06452816374 107% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 2.0 4.19205298013 48% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 2.0 4.33554083885 46% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 4.45695364238 157% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.27373068433 164% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.243915458829 0.272083759551 90% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0879452011956 0.0996497079465 88% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0879597371481 0.0662205650399 133% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.162783930206 0.162205337803 100% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0539095054839 0.0443174109184 122% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 12.6 13.3589403974 94% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 59.64 53.8541721854 111% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 5.55761589404 56% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 9.9 11.0289183223 90% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 11.78 12.2367328918 96% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.68 8.42419426049 103% => OK
difficult_words: 86.0 63.6247240618 135% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 10.5 10.7273730684 98% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.0 10.498013245 95% => OK
text_standard: 10.0 11.2008830022 89% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Write the essay in 20 minutes.
Rates: 76.6666666667 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 23.0 Out of 30
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.