Essay topics: TPO-05 - Integrated Writing Task

The lecture and the passage are devoted to discussion of massive stone buildings which were found in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The author shares with us three plausible theories which propose explanations of the prime usage of the "great houses". The lecturer disagrees and debunks the given evidence. Below the evidence which was given by both sides will be analyzed in details.

Firstly, the text states that Chaco structures might be used for residential purposes; however, the speaker casts doubt on the stance because although the place looks like "apartment buildings" at Taos from the outside, they aren't similar from the inside. For instance, one of the biggest structures at Chaco has more than one hundred rooms and only few fireplaces. Therefore, it could not have been used by ancient dwellers for living.

Secondly, the writer claims that the structures may be used for storage of food supplies such as grain maize. The professor avers that it is unlikely because studies have not found a significant number of remains of containers which ought to be used for storage of the food; moreover, there are no considerable traces of grain maize as well. Thus, it is unreasonable to believe that those buildings were used as storage facilities.

Finally, in the passage it is written that houses might have ceremonial purposes because a pile which consisted of broken pots has been found. The lecturer gives us an alternative explanation. Archaeologists identified that the mound consisted from other materials as well. For instance, they have found tools, stones, construction materials, ceramic etc. It seems that the mound was used as a trach pile and the pieces of pots are just regular garbage which was thrown away by people who constructed the houses.