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 article discuses about the purpose and meaning of carved stone balls found in different locations of Scotland. The author states that these stones date from almost 4000 years ago and mentions three possible theories beyond their usage. However, the professor believes these explanations to be unconvincing and refutes each.
First, the passage claims that these stones might have been used as weapons for fighting or hunting. The author says that they are some holes and grooves on them which could be used by people to swing or throw them in fights. However, the lecturer refutes this idea by saying that the stones would be worn and at least signs of wear would be observable on them like other war equipment.
Second, the article states that since all of the stones war similar in size and shape they could be used as a standard unit to measure the weight of grain and other food. In spite, the professor claims that although the stones are uniform in size but since they were made up of different stones and each had its specific density the stones are not uniform in weight, hence they could not be used as weighting units.
Third, the reading avers that the stone balls have elaborate design and might be served as a sign of important social status of their owners. However, the lecturer refutes this theory by stating that not all the stones were designed elaborately and some were too simple to be used for this purpose.
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 5, column 39, Rule ID: ALL_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'all the'.
Suggestion: all the
... Second, the article states that since all of the stones war similar in size and shape th...
^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 232, Rule ID: ADJECTIVE_IN_ATTRIBUTE[1]
Message: A more concise phrase may lose no meaning and sound more powerful.
Suggestion: uniform
...sor claims that although the stones are uniform in size but since they were made up of differen...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 349, Rule ID: ADJECTIVE_IN_ATTRIBUTE[1]
Message: A more concise phrase may lose no meaning and sound more powerful.
Suggestion: uniform
...its specific density the stones are not uniform in weight, hence they could not be used as weight...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, first, hence, however, if, second, so, third, at least
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 15.0 10.4613686534 143% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 7.0 5.04856512141 139% => OK
Conjunction : 13.0 7.30242825607 178% => OK
Relative clauses : 9.0 12.0772626932 75% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 24.0 22.412803532 107% => OK
Preposition: 31.0 30.3222958057 102% => 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: 1192.0 1373.03311258 87% => OK
No of words: 250.0 270.72406181 92% => More content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.768 5.08290768461 94% => OK
Fourth root words length: 3.97635364384 4.04702891845 98% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.17660285767 2.5805825403 84% => OK
Unique words: 134.0 145.348785872 92% => More unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.536 0.540411800872 99% => OK
syllable_count: 363.6 419.366225166 87% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.55342163355 97% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 0.0 3.25607064018 0% => OK
Article: 10.0 8.23620309051 121% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.25165562914 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 0.0 1.51434878587 0% => OK
Preposition: 1.0 2.5761589404 39% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 10.0 13.0662251656 77% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 25.0 21.2450331126 118% => OK
Sentence length SD: 42.3438307195 49.2860985944 86% => OK
Chars per sentence: 119.2 110.228320801 108% => OK
Words per sentence: 25.0 21.698381199 115% => OK
Discourse Markers: 5.9 7.06452816374 84% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 3.0 4.19205298013 72% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 1.0 4.33554083885 23% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 4.45695364238 112% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 4.0 4.27373068433 94% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.222770432081 0.272083759551 82% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0919702654295 0.0996497079465 92% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0689945896943 0.0662205650399 104% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.136873905444 0.162205337803 84% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0618736968459 0.0443174109184 140% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.5 13.3589403974 101% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 54.56 53.8541721854 101% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 5.55761589404 56% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.9 11.0289183223 108% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.68 12.2367328918 87% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 7.91 8.42419426049 94% => OK
difficult_words: 48.0 63.6247240618 75% => More difficult words wanted.
linsear_write_formula: 7.5 10.7273730684 70% => OK
gunning_fog: 12.0 10.498013245 114% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.2008830022 107% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
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.