Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardWeaken

Archaeologist: A recently translated archive of clay tablets from the ancient city of Kesh details all raw metal shipments received over a decade. The proportion of raw tin to copper recorded in these logs is significantly lower than the high proportion of tin found in the ornate bronze artifacts excavated from the city's contemporaneous elite tombs. This discrepancy indicates that the bronze items buried with the elite were likely imported as finished luxury goods rather than locally smelted from Kesh's raw material shipments.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the archaeologist's argument?

  1. Raw tin was extraordinarily expensive and was exclusively reserved by Kesh artisans for smelting the specialized items destined for the elite class, whereas copper was used abundantly for common tools.Answer
  2. B
    Trace element analysis of the ornate bronze artifacts reveals distinct isotopic signatures that match copper ores found hundreds of miles away from Kesh.
  3. C
    The translation of the clay tablets is highly contested among scholars, with some arguing that the symbol for tin has been misinterpreted.
  4. D
    The bronze artifacts found in the elite tombs of Kesh are significantly larger and heavier than the standard bronze tools used by commoners during that period.
  5. E
    The overall volume of copper imported into Kesh vastly exceeded the volume of tin imported during the decade recorded in the archive.

Answer

The statement regarding tin being exclusively reserved for elite items while copper was used broadly for common tools.
The argument relies on a flawed statistical assumption: that the composition of a specific subset of goods (elite tomb artifacts) must perfectly match the aggregate composition of all raw materials entering the city. The correct answer destroys this assumption by showing that distribution was heavily skewed. If artisans used the abundant copper for everyday tools but reserved the rare, expensive tin almost entirely for elite items, then local artisans could easily produce high-tin bronze for the elite. This perfectly bridges the gap between the low-tin trade records and the high-tin artifacts, proving that local smelting is a viable explanation and weakening the conclusion that the items had to be imported.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main conclusion of the argument.
The bronze items buried with the elite were imported as finished goods rather than locally smelted.
This is the author's main claim based on the discrepancy presented in the premises.
2
Identify the premises supporting the conclusion.
The proportion of tin to copper in raw shipments (overall imports) is significantly lower than the proportion of tin found in the elite bronze artifacts.
The author uses this mismatch in proportions as the sole evidence for the conclusion.
3
Identify the unstated assumption linking the premise to the conclusion.
The argument assumes that any bronze smelted locally in Kesh would necessarily reflect the aggregate tin-to-copper ratio of the city's total raw metal shipments.
For the premise to prove the conclusion, the overall average of raw materials must dictate the composition of all individual local products.
4
Find the option that attacks this assumption.
The correct answer shows that the aggregate ratio does not dictate the specific ratio of elite goods, because tin was disproportionately concentrated into items made for the elite.
If local artisans concentrated the limited tin into a few elite items, the elite items would have a high tin ratio despite the city's overall low tin imports, destroying the author's logic.

Key Concept

Identifying Flaws in Generalization / Part-to-Whole Fallacy
Rate this question

Topics

Weaken

More questions from this topic