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Question

Difficulty: MediumStrengthen

Archaeologist: Excavations at the Bronze Age settlement of Tell el-Ajjul revealed a sharp increase in the proportion of ceramic storage jars lined with beeswax starting around 1400 BCE, coinciding with a severe, prolonged regional drought. Because beeswax acts as an effective impermeable sealant against evaporative water loss, researchers concluded that the inhabitants adopted beeswax lining specifically as a technological adaptation to conserve drinking water during the drought.

Statement: The finding that contemporary ceramic storage jars from neighboring settlements that did not experience the drought showed no increase in beeswax lining strengthens the researchers' conclusion.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True, because establishing that the technological practice did not spread to neighboring drought-free settlements rules out alternative explanations such as general regional trade or cultural diffusion, thereby reinforcing the causal connection to drought adaptation.
The statement accurately identifies a valid strengthening mechanism: providing a control case where the absence of the proposed cause (drought) coincides with the absence of the observed effect (increase in beeswax-lined jars), which effectively rules out broader regional trends.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core premises and conclusion of the argument
Premise: Beeswax-lined jars spiked at Tell el-Ajjul during a drought, and beeswax prevents evaporation. Conclusion: The lining was adopted specifically to conserve water in response to that drought.
Isolating the conclusion allows the identification of the underlying causal assumption.
2
Identify the logical vulnerability in the causal attribution
The argument assumes that the increase in beeswax lining was caused by the drought rather than by a general regional innovation, trade shift, or decorative trend unrelated to rainfall.
Strengthening a causal claim often requires demonstrating that the effect does not occur when the proposed cause is absent.
3
Evaluate the impact of the supplementary statement
The statement shows that nearby settlements unaffected by drought did not adopt the practice, providing control evidence that supports the drought-specific cause.
Since the statement supports the causal attribution, the assertion that it strengthens the argument is correct (True).

Key Concept

Strengthening Causal Claims via Control Comparison
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Strengthen

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