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Difficulty: Very hardArgument Analysis and Evaluating Claims

Recent excavations at the Bronze Age coastal settlement of Tell el-Buraq revealed dozens of clay sealings bearing administrative motifs alongside imported Mycenaean transport jars. Epigraphist Dr. Aris Thorne contends that the presence of these sealings demonstrates that Tell el-Buraq functioned as a state-controlled redistribution hub for Eastern Mediterranean maritime commerce during the fourteenth century BCE. Thorne reasons that because clay sealings in inland Near Eastern polities of the period were utilized exclusively by royal bureaucracies to verify state-sanctioned agricultural allocations, the Tell el-Buraq sealings must similarly signify central crown oversight of foreign luxury commodity exchanges.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens Dr. Thorne's argument concerning the administrative status of Tell el-Buraq?

  1. During the fourteenth century BCE in the Levant, independent merchant consortiums routinely crafted and used clay sealings to authenticate private commercial transactions rather than state allocations.Answer
  2. B
    Chemical analysis of ceramic transport vessels across several Levantine coastal sites indicates that trade in Mycenaean goods expanded substantially immediately after regional monarchies established official tax tariffs.
  3. C
    Excavations at major inland palace complexes in neighboring regions confirm that administrative clay sealings were systematically cataloged in royal cuneiform archives.
  4. D
    Petrographic analysis indicates that the raw clay utilized for the sealings discovered at Tell el-Buraq matches clay deposits controlled directly by a regional royal seat.
  5. E
    Fourteenth-century BCE Mediterranean cargo vessels frequently altered their navigation routes to avoid political unrest among major Aegean kingdoms.

Answer

The argument is most seriously weakened by evidence showing that during the fourteenth century BCE in the Levant, independent merchant consortiums routinely used clay sealings to authenticate private commercial transactions.
Dr. Thorne bases the conclusion that Tell el-Buraq was a state-controlled hub on an analogy: because inland polities used clay sealings exclusively for state allocations, coastal sealings must also imply state control. The correct choice directly undermines this argument by establishing that in coastal Levantine contexts, clay sealings were routinely employed by independent private merchants. This breaks the link between the presence of sealings and necessary state oversight.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the author's main conclusion and supporting evidence
Conclusion: Tell el-Buraq was a state-controlled redistribution hub. Premise/Analogy: Inland polities exclusively used clay sealings for state-sanctioned allocations, so the coastal sealings must also denote royal oversight.
Evaluating an argument requires isolating the explicit premise-to-conclusion jump and identifying any unstated assumptions linking them.
2
Evaluate the underlying assumption of the comparative analogy
The argument assumes that administrative function and usage of clay sealings in coastal maritime trade contexts mirrored the exclusive royal monopoly seen in inland agricultural polities.
If clay sealings served different purposes in coastal trade than in inland agricultural management, the analogy breaks down.
3
Select the option that invalidates the assumption
The finding that private merchant consortiums in the Levant routinely used clay sealings for private commerce invalidates the assumption of an exclusive state monopoly, undermining the conclusion.
Showing that the evidence (sealings) frequently occurs under non-state conditions removes the necessity of inferring state control.

Key Concept

Evaluating Analogical Arguments and Assumptions in Reading Comprehension
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Topics

Argument Analysis and Evaluating Claims

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