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Difficulty: HardStrengthening Arguments

Archaeologists studying ancient agricultural settlements along the Zanja River basin found that around 3,000 years ago, crop yields increased dramatically immediately following the adoption of terraced hillside farming. The lead researchers concluded that the construction of terraces was the direct cause of this agricultural surplus, as terraces prevented soil erosion and retained rainfall on cultivated slopes. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the lead researchers' conclusion?

  1. Neighboring lowland settlements along the Zanja River that did not adopt terraced farming experienced no increase in crop yields during the same historical period.Answer
  2. B
    Terraced farming required significantly more manual labor to construct and maintain than traditional lowland farming techniques.
  3. C
    A major regional climate shift occurring 3,000 years ago brought unprecedented rainfall patterns that substantially raised soil moisture across the entire Zanja River basin.
  4. D
    The artifacts recovered from the hillside settlements indicate that terraced farming tools were made from locally sourced granite rather than imported metals.
  5. E
    The increase in crop yields allowed the Zanja River basin population to expand into previously uninhabited valleys several centuries later.

Answer

The argument is strengthened by establishing that lowland settlements without terracing experienced no yield increase, effectively ruling out broader external factors and providing a control group.
The correct answer provides a comparison group: neighboring settlements in the exact same region that did not construct terraces saw no increase in crop yields. This demonstrates that the yield increase was specific to the settlements that implemented terraced farming, ruling out broad environmental factors (such as favorable weather across the whole basin) and strengthening the causal link.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core argument and conclusion
Premise: Crop yields surged after adopting terraced farming. Conclusion: Constructing terraces directly caused the crop yield increase by preventing erosion and retaining water.
To strengthen a causal argument, one must support the causal connection or rule out alternative explanations.
2
Evaluate potential strengthening mechanisms
Demonstrating that the effect (increased yields) did not occur in similar populations where the cause (terraced farming) was absent acts as a control group, strongly supporting the causal claim.
Ruling out regional confounding variables confirms that terracing was the specific factor driving the yield improvement.
3
Match against the available options
The option comparing neighboring lowland settlements without terracing directly serves as this control group.
It eliminates the possibility that a widespread regional factor increased yields everywhere.

Key Concept

Causal Argument Strengthening via Control Group / Eliminating Alternative Explanations
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Strengthening Arguments

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