Critical Reasoning

Q17:
The spacing of the four holes on a fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite is just what is required to play the third through sixth notes of the diatonic scale—the seven-note musical scale used in much of Western music since the Renaissance. Musicologists therefore hypothesize that the diatonic musical scale was developed and used thousands of years before it was adopted by Western musicians.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis?
A. Bone flutes were probably the only musical instrument made by Neanderthals.
B. No musical instrument that is known to have used a diatomic scale is of an earlier date than the flute found at the Neanderthal campsite.
C. The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.
D. Flutes are the simplest wind instrument that can be constructed to allow playing a diatonic scale.
E. The cave-bear leg bone used to make the Neanderthal flute would have been long enough to make a flute capable of playing a complete diatonic scale.


OAE

The argument is says that these flute provide evidence that musical scale was used before the Renaissance.

A. This is irrelevant to the argument.
B. This is irrelevant to the argument.
C. Is irrelevant to the argument.
D. This is irrelevant to the argument.
E. Strengthens the argument. Notice that the passage say that a fragment of the flute was found. If the whole flute was likely to play the full diatonic scales, then the passage's hypothesis is strengthen.

i guess the answer choice comes down to B and E, and I chose E simply because in B, they say "is known to have a diatomic scale" - the stimulus doesn't say that it knows for sure that a diatomic scale was used.

hengirl03's explanation adds to this.

i hope option E will be correct