Item Code: Document1
The Dropa Stones
From http://www.urbantitan.com/5-most-mysterious-ancient-discoveries/
Image source - Cosmic Conspiracies
Archaeologists in 1938 were investigating an area of the Baian-Kara-Ula Mountains on the
border that divides China and Tibet when they came across a series of caves in the mountains.
Inside the caves were graves that contained three feet tall skeletons with abnormally large skulls.
The walls of the caves were decorated with drawings of the sun, moon, stars…and beings with
elongated heads. Further to their strange discoveries were these 12 inch discs, which became
known as the Dropa Stones.716 of them were recovered from the caves. Professor Tsum Um Nui
of the Beijing Academy for Ancient Studies studied these weird objects and later revealed that
the discs were covered in a secret alien language. He translated the language and claimed that an
alien spacecraft crashed in the Bayan Har Shan region 12,000 years ago. The occupants were
aliens called Dropa or Dzopa. The Dropa could not repair their craft, so they tried to adapt to the
conditions on Earth. Meanwhile, the local Ham tribesmen hunted down and killed most of the
aliens. Supposedly, the aliens had intermarried with the locals, making identification of the
origins of the skeletons more difficult. Under extreme objections the professor was forced to
resign, yet whether he was right or simply just crazy remains as much a mystery as the stones,
skeletons and caves themselves.
DOK: 1
HSCE:
Correct Answer: B
Where were the Dropa Stones found? (CCR 1) DOK 1
ESSTSBA Cohort 1
World History Selected Response
v 1.1
Author: Teresa Mccrumb
Item Code: Document1
A. A University in Beijing, China
B. Mountains on the border of China and Tibet
C. On the moon and stars.
D. Nobody knows where they were found.
DOK: 2
HSCE:
Correct Answer: C
What would be considered the Main idea of the passage above? (DOK 2)
A. Professor Tsum Um Nui, of the Beijing Academy for Ancient Studies in China
found some skeletons. The Beiijng Academy for Ancient Studies is one of the
best Universities in the world and is a leader in studying artifacts found from
ancient times.
B. People in ancient days were much smaller than modern humans. Many of the
skeletons from ancient times measure as short as three feet, but their heads
were abnormally large. Many of these ancient civilizations buried their dead in
mass graves.
C. Archeologists found skeletons and discs in 1938 in the mountains between
Tibet and China. A professor in China believes these remains prove the
existence of an alien civilization, but what they actually are remains a mystery.
D. Professor Tsum Um Nui works at The Beijing Academy for Ancient Studies in
China. He was forced to resign from his job because many people objected to his
views.
DOK: 2
HSCE:
Correct Answer: A
Which of the following claims in this passage are the strongest and supported by
specific evidence? (CCR 8) (DOK 2)
A.“Inside the caves were graves that contained three feet tall skeletons with
abnormally large skulls.”
B. “the discs were covered in a secret alien language.”
C. “Meanwhile, the local Ham tribesmen hunted down and killed most of the
aliens.”
ESSTSBA Cohort 1
World History Selected Response
v 1.1
Author: Teresa Mccrumb
Item Code: Document1
D. “The aliens had intermarried with the locals, making identification of the origins
of the skeletons more difficult.”
ESSTSBA Cohort 1
World History Selected Response
v 1.1
Author: Teresa Mccrumb