Examkin

Soru

Zorluk: OrtaStrengthen

Archaeologist: Excavations at the Bronze Age settlement of Tell el-Marwa revealed that grinding stones from the early occupational layer were made exclusively from local sandstone, whereas those from the late layer were predominantly made from imported basalt. Because basalt is significantly harder and more durable than sandstone, producing finer flour with far less stone grit, researchers concluded that the inhabitants switched to basalt primarily to improve the dietary quality and texture of their grain products.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the researchers' argument?

  1. A
    Deposits of local sandstone accessible to the inhabitants of Tell el-Marwa were completely depleted by the end of the settlement's early occupational period.
  2. B
    Basalt grinding stones recovered from other contemporary settlements in the region were occasionally used to pulverize mineral pigments for ceramic production.
  3. Human skeletal remains from the late occupational layer exhibit significantly less dental enamel abrasion and microscopic tooth fracturing than do remains from the early layer.Cevap
  4. D
    Bronze Age agrarian societies invariably prioritized the culinary advantages of imported tools over the economic costs associated with long-distance trade.
  5. E
    Sandstone tools found at the site show signs of having been repeatedly resurfaced to maintain grinding friction.

Cevap

The finding that human skeletal remains from the late occupational layer exhibit significantly less dental enamel abrasion and microscopic tooth fracturing than remains from the early layer.
The correct response provides direct physical evidence that the population experienced the specific dietary improvement hypothesized by the researchers. Observing reduced tooth wear and enamel fracturing in late-period skeletons confirms that food processed with basalt contained less abrasive grit, strongly reinforcing the claim that the transition was tied to dietary quality.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Analyze the stimulus to isolate the premises and conclusion.
Premises establish that early tools were local sandstone while late tools were imported basalt, which produces finer flour with less grit. The conclusion asserts that inhabitants switched to basalt primarily to improve dietary quality and grain texture.
Clarifying the argument's structure identifies the underlying assumption connecting tool composition to intended dietary improvement.
2
Identify the reasoning gap in the argument.
The argument assumes that the switch to basalt actually yielded a tangible dietary benefit and was not driven by non-culinary factors or resource scarcity.
Strengthening requires corroborating the expected physical outcome of the dietary improvement or ruling out competing explanations.
3
Evaluate the answer choices to identify the statement providing the strongest support.
Direct physical evidence showing a reduction in tooth enamel wear among late-layer inhabitants confirms that grit in the food supply was substantially reduced, reinforcing the dietary explanation.
Empirical confirmation of the predicted effect directly validates the causal explanation.

Anahtar Kavram

Strengthening an argument by providing empirical confirmation of an expected outcome or unstated assumption.
Tahmini Süre:1m 15s
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Strengthen

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