LSAT 111 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Archaeologist: A skeleton of a North American mastodon…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: The first Eurasian settlers in North America came from a more distant part of Eurasia.

REASONING: A skeleton of a mastodon that became extinct at the height of the ice age was found with a projectile inside of it. The projectile is dissimilar to all projectiles found so far in the part of Eurasia closest to North America.

ANALYSIS: By showing that there is no evidence of the projectiles in near Eurasia the stimulus is implying that there is some evidence the projectiles existed in far Eurasia.

The correct answer choice tells us that the projectiles haven’t been found in far Eurasia either.

Therefore it is equally likely the people came from either place. We have no evidence that would favor one part of Eurasia over another.

___________

1. CORRECT. The argument’s only evidence was that the projectile wasn’t found in any near part of Eurasia. This tells us that the projectile is unknown in all of Eurasia. So we have no idea where it comes from, and it could well come from the near part of Eurasia. 
2. So? The settlers might have been nomadic within their region, or they might have traveled further. This tells us nothing, and it gives us no information about what kind of projectiles they used.
3. This shows that the projectile was not completely unique. It slightly strengthens the argument. If the projectile were unique then we wouldn’t expect it to be found anywhere else.
4. This strengthens the argument by showing that many artifacts have been linked to far Eurasia.
5. This strengthens the argument by showing that people were more likely to live in far Eurasia.