▶ Your Answer :
In the reading passage, there is ample support for the author’s claim about the cause of Hohokam’s disintegration. The professor in the lecture gives several reasons as a rebuttal for the author’s point. First, the professor from listening contends that the argument related to flood is wrong. To be specific, a flood was a very common disaster at that period, and the Hohokam people had already repaired the irrigation system before. Therefore, they had enough ability to recover the devastating floods. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that the enormous flood happened, and it was recorded in the tree ring. In addition, the flood overwhelmed the irrigation channel, and the people could not help but move to another area. Second, the professor from listening insists that the claim concerning epidemic is erroneous. In other words, Spain explorer came to the area after the Hohokam disappeared, and there are no proof of many people’s death. This counters the reading passage’s assertion that the epidemic that European explorers diffused caused the collapse of the Hohokam. Not only that, irrigation canal was a trigger of waterborne diseases. Third, the professor from listening argues that the opinion about internal conflict is flawed. To put it another way, it is less likely that there were ruling classes in the Hohokam because there are no evidence of the class like tombs. Plus, the conflict is just oral history, so it is not reliable. This refutes the reading passage’s suggestion that the people uprising because of overpopulation and food shortage. Besides, the history was conveyed by the Pima Indians who is the descendants of Hohokam. With the three reasons aforementioned, the lecturer strongly goes against the author’s view on the extinction of the Hohokam.
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