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Difficulty: MediumTwo-Speaker Dialogues (Point at Issue)

Vance: The recent discovery of elaborately forged copper tools at the Kaelen site indicates that the ancient Kaelen society was governed by a highly centralized authority. Only a powerful central government could have organized the vast, complex trade networks required to transport copper ore from the distant northern mountains to the settlement.

Aris: The copper tools certainly prove that the Kaelen people engaged in long-distance trade. But we should not assume this required centralized leadership; historical evidence shows that loosely affiliated, decentralized nomadic clans frequently sustained equally complex, continent-spanning trade networks through informal barter systems.

The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Vance and Aris disagree over whether

  1. A
    the Kaelen society was primarily composed of loosely affiliated, decentralized nomadic clans.
  2. B
    the Kaelen people acquired the copper ore necessary for their tools through long-distance trade.
  3. a powerful central authority was required to organize the trade networks that supplied the Kaelen settlement with copper ore.Answer
  4. D
    the ability to forge elaborate copper tools serves as definitive proof of a society's political structure.
  5. E
    all complex, continent-spanning trade networks in the ancient world were sustained through informal barter systems.

Answer

The correct answer is the option stating that a powerful central authority was required to organize the trade networks that supplied the Kaelen settlement with copper ore.
The core of the dispute lies in the necessity of a central government for extensive trade. Vance explicitly asserts this necessity ('Only a powerful central government could have organized...'), while Aris explicitly denies it ('we should not assume this required centralized leadership' because decentralized clans 'frequently sustained equally complex' networks). Thus, this is the exact proposition over which they disagree.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Speaker 1's (Vance's) argument to find the core conclusion and its supporting premise.
Vance concludes the Kaelen society was highly centralized because the complex trade networks needed to get copper ore could ONLY be organized by a powerful central government.
Understanding the logical structure of the first speaker's argument highlights the claims vulnerable to attack.
2
Analyze Speaker 2's (Aris's) response to determine exactly which part of Vance's argument is being challenged.
Aris agrees that long-distance trade occurred but explicitly rejects the idea that centralized leadership was required to organize it, citing decentralized clans as a counterexample.
Point at Issue questions require finding the precise proposition that one speaker affirms and the other denies.
3
Evaluate the options to find the statement where Vance would say 'Yes' and Aris would say 'No' (or vice versa).
Vance says 'Yes' to central authority being required for the trade networks. Aris says 'No' to that exact requirement.
This confirms the correct option captures the mutually exclusive stances of the two speakers.

Key Concept

Two-Speaker Dialogues (Point at Issue)
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Topics

Two-Speaker Dialogues (Point at Issue)

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