In the twentieth century, ethnographers made a concerted effort to collect Mexican American folklore, but they did not always agree about that folklore's origins. Scholars such as Aurelio Espinosa claimed that Mexican American folklore derived largely from the folklore of Spain, which ruled Mexico and what is now the southwestern United States from the sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Scholars such as Americo Paredes, by contrast, argued that while some Spanish influence is undeniable, Mexican American folklore is mainly the product of the ongoing interactions of various cultures in Mexico and the United States.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Paredes's argument?

Question

In the twentieth century, ethnographers made a concerted effort to collect Mexican American folklore, but they did not always agree about that folklore's origins. Scholars such as Aurelio Espinosa claimed that Mexican American folklore derived largely from the folklore of Spain, which ruled Mexico and what is now the southwestern United States from the sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Scholars such as Americo Paredes, by contrast, argued that while some Spanish influence is undeniable, Mexican American folklore is mainly the product of the ongoing interactions of various cultures in Mexico and the United States.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Paredes's argument?

Accepted Answer

Most of the folklore that the ethnographers collected consisted of corridos_--ballads about history and social life--of a clearly recent origin.

Answer

The folklore that the ethnographers collected included several songs written in the form of a decima, a type of poem originating in late sixteenth-century Spain.

Answer

Much of the folklore that the ethnographers collected had similar elements from region to region.

Answer

Most of the folklore that the ethnographers collected was previously unknown to scholars.