Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumNecessary Assumption

Excavations at the ancient Koris site have uncovered intricate bone flutes dating back approximately 40,000 years. The only hominid remains found at the Koris site from this time period belong to Neanderthals. Based on this evidence, archaeologists conclude that Neanderthals must have possessed the cognitive capacity to create complex musical instruments.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the archaeologists' argument depends?

  1. The bone flutes were not left at the Koris site by a different hominid species whose remains have not been discovered there.Answer
  2. B
    Neanderthals were the only hominid species living 40,000 years ago that possessed the cognitive capacity to create musical instruments.
  3. C
    Neanderthals at the Koris site engaged in communal ceremonies that featured the playing of bone flutes.
  4. D
    The evolutionary development of advanced tool-making skills directly caused the cognitive capacity to create musical instruments.
  5. E
    Bone flutes are the only type of musical instrument that could have survived in the soil conditions at the Koris site for 40,000 years.

Answer

The correct assumption is that the bone flutes were not left at the Koris site by a different hominid species whose remains have not been discovered there.
The argument concludes that Neanderthals possessed the cognitive capacity to create complex musical instruments based solely on the co-occurrence of their remains and the bone flutes at the Koris site. This reasoning depends on ruling out alternative sources for the flutes. By applying the Negation Test, if we assume the opposite of the correct answer—that the flutes WERE left at the site by a different hominid species whose remains have not been discovered—the argument falls apart completely. The evidence would no longer point to Neanderthals as the creators. Therefore, it is strictly necessary for the argument to assume that another species did not leave the flutes there.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core components of the argument.
Premise: Bone flutes and Neanderthal remains were found together at the 40,000-year-old Koris site. Conclusion: Neanderthals possessed the cognitive capacity to create complex musical instruments.
Understanding the exact relationship between the premises and the conclusion is required to spot the logical gap.
2
Identify the logical gap in the reasoning.
The argument assumes a causal and definitive link between the artifacts and the hominid remains simply because they were found at the same site.
Just because Neanderthal remains were the only ones found does not guarantee they were the only hominids present or the ones who made the flutes.
3
Anticipate what is necessary to bridge or defend this gap.
A necessary assumption must rule out the possibility that another group brought or made the flutes at the site without leaving skeletal evidence.
This is a 'defender' assumption that blocks an alternate explanation that would destroy the conclusion.
4
Apply the Negation Test to evaluate the options.
Negating the correct answer ('The bone flutes WERE left by a different species...') completely invalidates the conclusion that Neanderthals made them.
The Negation Test is the definitive proof of a necessary assumption; if its negation destroys the argument, the assumption is strictly required.

Key Concept

Necessary Assumption (Negation Test and Defender Assumptions)
Rate this question

Topics

Necessary Assumption

More questions from this topic