Archeologists discover Evidence of Prehistoric Island Settlers Reading Answers

Jul 1, 2025

Archeologists discover Evidence of Prehistoric Island Settlers Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Archeologists discover Evidence of Prehistoric Island Settlers Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. It contains questions such as: Do the following statements agree with the information in the Reading Passage? Write true, false, or not given and choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

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Section 1 ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER EVIDENCE OF PREHISTORIC ISLAND SETTLERS

In early April 2019, Dr Ceri Shipton and his colleagues from Australian National University became the first archaeologists to explore Obi, one of many tropical islands in Indonesia's Maluku Utara province. The research team's discoveries suggest that the prehistoric people who lived on Obi were adept on both land and sea, hunting in the dense rainforest, foraging on the seashore, and possibly even voyaging between islands.

The excavations were part of a project to learn more about how people first dispersed from mainland Asia, through the Indonesian archipelago and into the prehistoric continent that once connected Australia and New Guinea. The team's earlier research suggested that the northernmost islands in the group, known as the Wallacean islands, including Obi, would have offered the easiest migration route. It also seemed likely that these islands were crucial 'stepping stones' on humans' island-hopping voyages through this region millennia ago. But to support this idea, they needed archaeological evidence for humans living in this remote area in the ancient past. So, they travelled to Obi to look for sites that might reveal evidence of early occupation.

Just inland from the village of Kelo on Obi's northern coast, Shipton and his colleagues found two caves containing prehistoric rock shelters that were suitable for excavation. With the permission and help of the local people of Kelo, they dug a small test excavation in each shelter. There they found numerous artefacts, including fragments of axes, some dating to about 14,000 years ago. The earliest axes at Kelo were made using clamshells. Axes made from clamshells from roughly the same time had also previously been found elsewhere in this region, including on the nearby island of Gebe to the northeast. As on Gebe, it is highly likely that Obi's axes were used in the construction of canoes, thus allowing these early peoples to maintain connections between communities on neighbouring islands. The oldest cultural layers from the Kelo site provided the team with the earliest record for human occupation on Obi, dating

back around 18,000 years. At this time the climate was drier and colder than today, and the island's dense rainforests would likely have been much less impenetrable than they are now. Sea levels were about 120 metres lower, meaning Obi was a much larger island, encompassing what is today the separate island of Bisa, as well as several other small islands nearby.

Roughly 11,700 years ago, as the most recent ice age ended, the climate became significantly warmer and wetter, no doubt making Obi's jungle much thicker. According to the researchers, it is no coincidence that around this time the first axes crafted from stone rather than sea shells appear, likely in response to their heavy-duty use for clearing and modification of the increasingly dense rainforest. While stone takes about twice as long to grind into an axe compared to shell, the harder material keeps its sharp edge for longer. Judging by the bones which the researchers unearthed in the Kelo caves, people living there mainly hunted the Rothschild's cuscus, a possum-like creature that still lives on Obi today. As the forest grew more dense, people probably used axes to clear patches of forest and make hunting easier.

Shipton's team's excavation of the shelters at the Kelo site unearthed a volcanic glass substance called obsidian, which must have been brought over from another island, as there is no known source on Obi. It also revealed particular types of beads, similar to those previously found on islands in southern Wallacea. These finds again support the idea that Obi islanders routinely travelled to other islands.

The excavations suggest people successfully lived in the two Kelo shelters for about 10,000 years. But then, about 8,000 years ago, both were abandoned. Did the residents leave Obi completely, or move elsewhere on the island? Perhaps the jungle had grown so thick that axes were no longer a match for the dense undergrowth. Perhaps people simply moved to the coast and turned to fishing rather than hunting as a means of survival.

Whatever the reason for the departure, there is no evidence for use of the Kelo shelters after this time, until about 1,000 years ago, when they were reoccupied by people who owned pottery as well as items made out of gold and silver. It seems likely, in view of Obi's location, that this final phase of occupation also saw the Kelo shelters used by people involved in the historic trade in spices between the Maluku islands and the rest of the world.

Questions 1–7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage I? Write

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

1. Archaeological research had taken place on the island of Obi before the arrival of Ceri

Shipton and his colleagues.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Dr Ceri Shipton and his colleagues from Australian National University became the first archaeologists to explore Obi,

Keywords: Dr Ceri Shipton, Obi

Keyword Location: Para 1, Line 1

Explanation: The island of Obi had already been researched before Dr Ceri Shipton and his colleagues from the Australian National University came to research.

2. At the Kelo sites, the researchers found the first clamshell axes ever to be discovered in the region.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: Axes made from clamshells from roughly the same time had also previously been found elsewhere in this region,

Keywords: clamshells, region

Keyword Location: Para 3, Lines 5-6

Explanation: The Axes are made from clamshells, which have been previously discovered in a different region.

3. The size of Obi today is less than it was 18,000 years ago.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: Sea levels were about 120 metres lower, meaning Obi was a much larger island,

Keywords: 120, larger island

Keyword Location: Para 3, Line 13

Explanation: The original size of the Obi was much larger, 18,000 years ago, at the Sea level being 120 metres lower than it is now.

4. A change in the climate around 11,700 years ago had a greater impact on Obi than on the surrounding islands.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: No information about a change in the climate around 11,700 years ago having a greater impact on Obi than on the surrounding islands.

5. The researchers believe there is a connection between warmer, wetter weather and a change in the material used to make axes.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: it is no coincidence that around this time the first axes crafted from stone rather than sea shells

Keywords: coincidence, sea shells

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 3

Explanation: As per the researcher's findings, axes made of stone were crafted rather than seashells due to the warm and wet weather.

6. Shipton's team were surprised to find evidence of the Obi islanders' hunting practices.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The text contains no information regarding Shipton's team being surprised to find evidence of the Obi islanders' hunting practices

7. It is thought that the Kelo shelters were occupied continuously until about 1,000 years ago.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: there is no evidence for use of the Kelo shelters after this time, until about 1,000 years ago,

Keywords: evidence, 1,000 years

Keyword Location: Para 7, Lines 1-2

Explanation: No evidence was found during the research to state that the use of Kelo shelters is being used continuous up until about 1,000 years ago.

Questions 8–13

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS ON OBI

Excavations of rock shelters inside 8……………….. near the village of Kelo revealed:

• axes from around 14,000 years ago, probably used to make canoes

Answer: CAVES

Supporting statement: Shipton and his colleagues found two caves containing prehistoric rock shelters that were suitable for excavation.

Keywords: caves, prehistoric

Keyword Location: Para 3, Line 3

Explanation: Two prehistoric rock caves were found by Shipton and his colleagues near the village of Kelo that were suitable for excavation.

• axes made out of 9………….. dating from around 11,700 years ago

Answer: STONE

Supporting statement: According to the researchers, it is no coincidence that around this time the first axes crafted from stone rather than sea shells

Keywords: axes, stone

Keyword Location: Para 4, Line 3

Explanation: As per the research findings, it was clear that axes made of stone were used some 11,700 years ago instead of seashells.

10………… of an animal: evidence of what ancient islanders ate

• evidence of travel between islands:

- obsidian: a material that is not found naturally on Obi

Answer: BONES

Supporting statement: Judging by the bones which the researchers unearthed in the Kelo caves, people living there mainly hunted

Keywords: bones, unearthed

Keyword Location: Para 4, Lines 5-6

Explanation: The bones found during the excavations indicate that the people of Kelo used to hunt a particular animal as their food.

-11……………which resembled ones found on other islands.

It is thought that from 8,000 years ago, Obi islanders:

Answer: BEADS

Supporting statement: It also revealed particular types of beads,

Keywords: revealed, beads

Keyword Location: Para 5, Line 3

Explanation: A particular type of beads was found during the excavation, similar to those found on the islands in southern Wallacea.

• may have switched from hunting to fishing

• had12………… as well as items made out of metal

Answer: POTTERY

Supporting statement: when they were reoccupied by people who owned pottery as well as items made out of gold and silver

Keywords: pottery, gold and silver

Keyword Location: Para 7, Lines 2-3

Explanation: Pottery and items made out of gold and silver were found during the excavation, which is a sign that the later settlers owned them.

• probably took part in the production and sale of 13…………..

Answer: SPICES

Supporting statement: Kelo shelters used by people involved in the historic trade in spices between the Maluku islands and the rest of the world.

Keywords: trade, spices

Keyword Location: Para 7, Lines 4-5

Explanation: The people involved in the trade of spices between the Maluku Islands and the rest of the world might have taken shelter in the kelo.

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