3. Native American burial sites dating back 5，000 years indicate that the residents of Maine at that time were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people.

(A)   were part of a widespread culture of Algonquian-speaking people

(B)   had been part of a widespread culture of people who were Algonquian-speaking

(C)   were people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking

(D)   had been people who were part of a widespread culture that was Algonquian-speaking

(E)   were a people which had been part of a widespread，Algonquian-speaking culture

Verb form + Rhetorical construction

The original sentence contains no errors．Each alternative introduces an error, adds unnecessary words，or changes the meaning of the original sentence．

A  Correct．The original sentence uses the correct verb tense(were)to indicate an ongoing action in the past；the phrasing is concise and clear．

B  Had been is an incorrect verb tense，suggesting that the Native Americans were no longer part of the culture；wordy．

C  Algonquian-speaking should refer to people，not culture；wordy．

D  Had been is an incorrect verb tense，suggesting that the Native Americans were no longer part of the culture；wordy and imprecise．

E  Were and had been are inconsistent for tenses；which is not the proper pronoun for people；wordy and imprecise．

The correct answer is A．

这个句子的主干是sites indicate that –clause，从时态上来讲，在没有明显地过去完成时地征兆情况下是不能用had been的；从句的结构是residents were part of a people，复杂就复杂在people前面的多修饰语， 但是有疑问,选项A抽取出来应该是residents were a culture,  请NN们帮忙解释一下

 people are part of a culture....

的确感觉有点怪，但可能是英语的说法，不过我没能找到作证资料，继续讨论....