Eurasia

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Eurasia

by vikram4689 » Wed May 23, 2012 5:34 pm
Archaeologist: A skeleton of a North American mastodon that became extinct at the peak of the Ice Age was recently discovered. It contains a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in that part of Eurasia closest to North America. Thus, since Eurasians did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the archaeologist's argument?

(A) The projectile found in the mastodon does not resemble any that were used in Eurasia before or during the Ice Age.

(B) The people who occupied the Eurasian area closest to North America remained nomadic throughout the Ice Age.

(C) The skeleton of a bear from the same place and time as the mastodon skeleton contains a similar projectile.

(D) Other North American artifacts from the peak of the Ice Age are similar to ones from the same time found in more distant parts of Eurasia.

(E) Climatic conditions in North America just before the Ice Age were more conducive to human habitation than were those in the part of Eurasia closest to North America at that time.

shouldn't portion in bold be mentioned, otherwise it says contradictory statements - all eurasians did not settle before ice age and then it mentions first eurasian settlers came from distant part of eurasia
Eurasians from closest part of NA did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia
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by jimmyjimmy » Thu May 24, 2012 8:23 am
Archaeologist: A skeleton of a North American mastodon that became extinct at the peak of the Ice Age was recently discovered. It contains a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in that part of Eurasia closest to North America. Thus, since Eurasians did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia.

conclusion- the 1st eurasian settlers in NA came from a more distant part of eurasia
we need to prove that they dint come from distant part of Eurasia,(which does not mean that we have to prove that they came from near parts of Eurasia)


It contains a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in that part of Eurasia closest to North America.
( means it is not similar to the one found from closest part of NA, which does not mean that it is similar to the distant part) close and distant are to confuse us!!

hope it helps!!..

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by vikram4689 » Thu May 24, 2012 8:56 am
arch. found a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in part of Eurasia closest to North America so author thinks this projectile must be made by people from distant part of Eurasia.

Lets say ice age happened in 1900 ( i am taking it as an example to explain clearly)
To support arch says. since eurasian did not settle till 1900, the first Eurasian (which must have came before 1900 so that they can make a projectile that was found later) settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia. Now here is the contradiction - bold portion is included in underlined one. So bold portion should have said Eurasians from closest part of NA did not settle in North America until 1900
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by thestartupguy » Thu May 24, 2012 10:42 am
Can Mitch/Stacie/Ron or any other GMAT expert attempt this CR? I did not understand the argument at all, Option A is too overwhelming :(

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by agarwalva » Fri May 25, 2012 10:25 am
vikram4689 wrote:Archaeologist:

Premise 1 ).. A skeleton of a North American mastodon(an Animal) that became extinct at the peak of the Ice Age was recently discovered. It contains a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in that part of Eurasia closest to North America. Thus, since Eurasians did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the archaeologist's argument?

(A) The projectile found in the mastodon does not resemble any that were used in Eurasia before or during the Ice Age.
>> Correct Answer
(B) The people who occupied the Eurasian area closest to North America remained nomadic throughout the Ice Age.
>>This could be a contented if we assume that only Eurasians could have brought the projectile
(C) The skeleton of a bear from the same place and time as the mastodon skeleton contains a similar projectile.
>> Does not affect the conclusion
(D) Other North American artifacts from the peak of the Ice Age are similar to ones from the same time found in more distant parts of Eurasia.
>> Might strengthen
(E) Climatic conditions in North America just before the Ice Age were more conducive to human habitation than were those in the part of Eurasia closest to North America at that time.
>>Does not affect the conclusion

shouldn't portion in bold be mentioned, otherwise it says contradictory statements - all eurasians did not settle before ice age and then it mentions first eurasian settlers came from distant part of Eurasia
Eurasians from closest part of NA did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia

Premise 1-- A skeleton of a North American mastodon(an Animal) that became extinct at the peak of the Ice Age was recently discovered.
Premise 2--It contains a human-made projectile dissimilar to any found in that part of Eurasia closest to North America.
Conclusion -- Thus, since Eurasians did not settle in North America until shortly before the peak of the Ice Age, the first Eurasian settlers in North America probably came from a more distant part of Eurasia.

The author concludes as the projectile is not similar to That ones found in Eurasia (closer to NA) .. the Eurasians came from distant parts ...

The clear cut assumption here is .. Eurasians bought this projectile...

clearly option A.. That projectile found in the mastodon does not resemble any that were used in Eurasia before or during the Ice Age. points the flaw in assumption.. Eurasians never bought these an hence we cannot conclude about them

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by vikram4689 » Fri May 25, 2012 5:15 pm
The clear cut assumption here is .. Eurasians bought this projectile...
This is not the assumption. If this were the assumption then Eurasians can be from the closest part as well. There is no reason given that Eurasians from the closest part cannot buy.

Author is assuming that projectile came from Eurasia only and that is why he says if it did not come from closest part then it must have come from distant part. Then correct answer weaken his argument by saying that this projectile was not from Eurasia as a whole because does not resemble any that were used in Eurasia before or during the Ice Age.
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