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Zorluk: Çok zorIdentifying Necessary Assumptions

Archaeologist: Recent excavations of the ancient settlement of Tlanex indicate a stark division in material culture. The highland sector contains thousands of intricately carved jade artifacts, whereas the lowland sector contains almost exclusively unpolished clay implements. Because the jade artifacts required hundreds of hours of specialized labor to produce, they were undoubtedly luxury items of immense value. Consequently, the inhabitants of the highland sector must have belonged to a significantly higher socioeconomic class than the inhabitants of the lowland sector.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the archaeologist's argument?

  1. The artifacts recovered from the highland and lowland sectors were not deposited by a single population that utilized the two sectors for different societal functions.Cevap
  2. B
    Anyone in Tlanex who possessed intricately carved jade artifacts belonged to a higher socioeconomic class than anyone who possessed only unpolished clay implements.
  3. C
    All of the intricately carved jade artifacts produced in Tlanex were kept within the highland sector rather than traded to other ancient settlements.
  4. D
    The unpolished clay implements found in the lowland sector were not primarily used for the manufacturing or transportation of the intricately carved jade artifacts.
  5. E
    The immense value of the intricately carved jade artifacts was the primary cause of the socioeconomic disparity between the inhabitants of the two sectors.

Cevap

The argument requires assuming that the artifacts recovered from the highland and lowland sectors were not deposited by a single population that utilized the two sectors for different societal functions.
To test if an assumption is necessary, we apply the Negation Technique: we make the statement false and see if the argument survives. If we negate the correct answer, it becomes: 'The artifacts recovered from the highland and lowland sectors WERE deposited by a single population that utilized the two sectors for different societal functions.' If the exact same group of people simply used the highland sector for one thing (e.g., storing wealth or ceremonies) and the lowland sector for another (e.g., farming or daily work), then there are no distinct 'inhabitants of the highland sector' to compare against 'inhabitants of the lowland sector.' Because negating this statement completely destroys the argument, the original statement is a logically necessary assumption.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the conclusion of the argument.
The inhabitants of the highland sector belonged to a significantly higher socioeconomic class than the inhabitants of the lowland sector.
This sets the target for the necessary assumption. The author is making a comparative claim about two distinct groups of people.
2
Identify the premises supporting the conclusion.
The highland sector contains immensely valuable luxury jade artifacts, while the lowland sector contains almost exclusively unpolished clay implements.
This establishes the evidence used to draw the conclusion: a geographical division of material wealth.
3
Find the logical gap between the premises and the conclusion.
The author equates 'where artifacts are found' with 'where distinct socioeconomic classes lived'.
The author assumes the artifacts represent two different populations living in two different areas, rather than one population using different areas for different tasks (e.g., living in the highlands and working in the lowlands).
4
Apply the Negation Technique to the correct option to verify it is necessary.
Negated correct option: 'The artifacts WERE deposited by a single population that utilized the two sectors for different societal functions.'
If this negated statement is true, there are no separate 'highland inhabitants' and 'lowland inhabitants' to compare. The entire argument collapses, proving this assumption is strictly necessary.

Anahtar Kavram

Defender Assumption / Negation Technique
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Konular

Identifying Necessary Assumptions

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