Task1: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on the specific theories discussed in the reading passage.
Reading:
As early as the twelfth century A.D., the settlements of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico in the American southwest were notable for their “great houses,” massive stone buildings that contain hundreds of rooms and often stand three or four stories high. Archaeologists have been trying to determine how the buildings were used. While there is still no universally agreed upon explanation, there are three competing theories.
One theory holds that the Chaco structures were purely residential, with each housing hundreds of people. Supporters of this theory have interpreted Chaco great houses as earlier versions of the architecture seen in more recent Southwest societies. In particular, the Chaco houses appears strikingly similar to the large, well-known “apartment buildings” at Taos, New Mexico, in which many people have been living for centuries.
A second theory contends that the Chaco structures were used to store food supplies. One of the main crops of the Chaco people were grain maize, which could be stored for long periods of time without spoiling and could serve as a long-lasting supply of food. The supplies of maize had to be stored somewhere, and the size of the great houses would make them very suitable for the purpose.
A third theory proposes that houses were used as ceremonial centers. Close to one house, called Pueblo Alto, archeologists identified an enormous mound formed by a pile of old material. Excavations of the mound revealed deposits containing a surprisingly large number of broken pots. This finding has been interpreted as evidence that people gathered at Pueblo Alto for special ceremonies. At the ceremonies, they ate festive meals and then discarded the pots in which the meals had been prepared or served. Such ceremonies have been documented for other Native American cultures.
Both article and lecture discuss about the function of "great houses"of Chao Canyon, the massive stone building. The article implies that Chao houses served as residential purposes; they were used to store food supplies, and were used to hold ceremonies. However, disagree with the article. He says that there is no convincing evidence that Chao houses were served as residential purposes. The professor refutes each of the author's reasons.
First, the article claims that because the Chao houses look similar to residential buildings built by the people from other societies in the American Southwest, Chao houses may have been used for residential purposes. The professor refutes this point by explaining that Chao houses contain very few fireplaces, and fewer than the family living in the house would need for cooking, therefore Chao houses were not built for residential.
Second, the article states that the Chao houses may have been used to store food. The people in Chao Canyon needed places to store their grain maize, and the great houses have large space that could serve that purpose. However, the professor disagree with this point by saying that the theory of using Chao houses to store grain maize is determined by the fact that very few maize, and maize containers have been found in the Chao houses during excavation.
Finally, the article informs that the Chao houses may have served as ceremonial centers, because the large amount of broken potteries has been found in a mound located near "Pueblo Alto", houses used for ceremonial events. This evidence suggests that people discarded the pots in which the food was prepared and served after the ceremonies. The professor opposes this point by saying that the mound near "Pueblo Alto"also contains construction tools which suggest that the pots found in the mound were probably used by construction workers.
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However, disagree with the article.
However, the lecture disagrees with the article.
Sentence: However, the professor disagree with this point by saying that the theory of using Chao houses to store grain maize is determined by the fact that very few maize, and maize containers have been found in the Chao houses during excavation.
Description: The fragment professor disagree with is rare
Suggestion: Possible agreement error: Replace disagree with verb, past participle
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 26 in 30
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 13 12
No. of Words: 306 250
No. of Characters: 1537 1200
No. of Different Words: 135 150
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.182 4.2
Average Word Length: 5.023 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.248 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 109 80
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 71 60
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 43 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 27 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 23.538 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 10.881 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.538 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.431 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.62 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.14 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 4 4