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Question

Difficulty: MediumWeaken

Museum Curator: Chemical analyses of pottery fragments recovered from the ancient coastal settlement of Thalassa revealed trace residues of a rare cedar resin native today exclusively to the northern highlands of Mount Othrys. Because rugged terrain made overland transport across the intervening mountain passes impossible during the Bronze Age, maritime trade routes must have operated directly between Thalassa and northern highland merchants during this period.

Which of the following statements, if true, each undermine the curator's conclusion? Select all that apply.

  1. Fossil pollen analyses confirm that during the Bronze Age, cedar trees of the Mount Othrys species flourished in coastal forests adjacent to Thalassa.Answer
  2. B
    Bronze Age shipwrecks discovered along the coastal route between Thalassa and northern ports contained storage vessels sealed with Mount Othrys cedar resin.
  3. Geological data show that a swift perennial river flowing from Mount Othrys deposited large quantities of cedar driftwood and raw resin directly onto beaches near Thalassa.Answer
  4. D
    Excavations along the high mountain passes between Mount Othrys and Thalassa uncovered paved tracks and beast-of-burden harnesses dating to the Bronze Age.
  5. E
    Thalassian artisans utilized the highland cedar resin primarily as a sealant for utilitarian cookware rather than as an aromatic incense for religious rituals.

Answer

The statements establishing that identical cedar trees grew locally along the coast and that a perennial river washed raw resin directly onto Thalassa's beaches both undermine the curator's conclusion.
The conclusion claims that maritime trade routes between Thalassa and northern highland merchants must have existed to account for the resin residues. Both the statement indicating that the cedar species flourished locally along the coast in antiquity and the statement indicating that natural river currents transported the resin from Mount Othrys directly to Thalassa provide valid alternative explanations for the physical evidence, demonstrating that human maritime commerce was not required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premises and the main conclusion of the argument.
Premises: Thalassian pottery contains highland cedar resin; overland mountain routes were impassable. Conclusion: Maritime trade routes must have operated between Thalassa and northern highland merchants.
Clarifying the logical core exposes the author's underlying assumption that maritime trade was the only possible explanation for the resin's presence.
2
Identify the unstated assumptions linking the evidence to the conclusion.
The argument assumes that the resin could only have originated from the distant northern highlands in the Bronze Age and that human trade was the only possible transport mechanism.
Weaken questions require identifying alternative explanations that explain the evidence without requiring the author's conclusion.
3
Evaluate the choices to find statements that independently undermine the author's conclusion.
The statement showing local coastal growth provides an alternate local source, while the statement showing river deposits provides an alternate natural transport mechanism. Both invalidate the necessity of maritime trade routes.
Each of these two findings demonstrates that the presence of resin on the pottery does not necessitate the existence of maritime trade routes.

Key Concept

Identifying alternative explanations and challenging unstated causal links in Weaken arguments
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Weaken

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