Causation in Period 1 Practice Test

A historian writes: “In the Great Basin, small groups often emphasized flexibility—moving among patches of seeds, roots, and game as rainfall shifted. Social ties extended beyond any single campsite through marriage networks and reciprocal obligations, helping communities buffer scarcity. Such arrangements differed from regions where concentrated resources favored large, permanent settlements.” Which factor most directly explains why Great Basin societies tended toward smaller, mobile communities?

An anthropologist emphasizes that trade networks connected distant regions through exchanges of marine shells, copper, obsidian, and crafted textiles, but that participation differed by proximity to key routes and by local production specialties. The author argues that exchange did not erase cultural differences. Which of the following best explains the primary factor shaping differences among these societies before 1491?