Critical Reasoning

Answers with explanations please...

In Swartkans territory, archaeologists discovered charred bone fragments dating back 1 million years. Analysis of the fragments, which came from a variety of animals, showed that they had been heated to temperatures no higher than those produced in experimental campfires made from branches of white stinkwood, the most common tree around Swartkans.

Which of the following, if true, would, together with the information above, provide the best basis for the claim that the charred bone fragments are evidence of the use of fire by early hominids?
(A) The white stinkwood tree is used for building material by the present-day inhabitants of Swartkans.
(B) Forest fires can heat wood to a range of temperatures that occur in campfires.
(C) The bone fragments were fitted together by the archaeologists to form the complete skeletons of several animals.
(D) Apart from the Swartkans discovery, there is reliable evidence that early hominids used fire as many as 500 thousand years ago.
(E) The bone fragments were found in several distinct layers of limestone that contained primitive cutting tools known to have been used by early hominids.

I will go with E. The only thing that needs to be proved in the given statement is that the bones were not charred by the forest fire but by humans. And E supports this by proving that these animals were cut by the tools before being burnt.

v_shiv wrote:I will go with E. The only thing that needs to be proved in the given statement is that the bones were not charred by the forest fire but by humans. And E supports this by proving that these animals were cut by the tools before being burnt.

Yes, I agree that the tools found near animal bones prove that the bones were perhaps broken by tools before they were charred. But it still does not prove conclusively that the bones were charred by by human created fires rather than by forest fires.

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Hope this helps

In Swartkans territory, archaeologists discovered charred bone fragments dating back 1 million years. Analysis of the fragments, which came from a variety of animals, showed that they had been heated to temperatures no higher than those produced in experimental campfires made from branches of white stinkwood, the most common tree around Swartkans.

Which of the following, if true, would, together with the information above, provide the best basis for the claim that the charred bone fragments are evidence of the use of fire by early hominids?

This question is in OG 12 and the explanation given is as follows :
A Today's use of stinkwood for building is irrelevant to the argument.

B This suggests that forest fires could have been responsible for the charring, so it weakens the argument.

C This information offers no support to the argument that early hominids used fire.

D The fragments date back one million years, so evidence from 500,000 years ago is irrelevant.

E Correct. This information links early hominids to these bone fragments and so strengthens the
argument.

I agree, I found this very tricky. I found E a bit deceiving as this doesn't prove that the bone fragments were used to create fires by early hominids. The stimulus just states that bone fragments were used as TOOLS. Please elaborate BTG friends.

Also... would you guys consider this as a Strengthen question or a Must Be True question?

Thanks!

komal wrote:E Correct. This information links early hominids to these bone fragments and so strengthens the
argument.

I got it right by POE but i cannot link the hominids to fire and bones. What is the missing link that covers up the argument? Also, what is the relevance of lime stone in this arugment?

Please help me understand

crystal E here.Lime stone for showing the timeline and preserved things for the basis of the claim.

E it is.

The link here is the tools that were also discovered along with the bone fragments. E states that the tools are known to have been used by early hominids.

Can an expert please help how to determine E as the answer.
This is something I am getting from ruling out the other options.

Hi Veenu,
This question is little tricky and you can reach correct answer by POE


A The white stinkwood tree is used for building material by the present-day inhabitants of Swartkans. Irrelevant

B Forest fires can heat wood to a range of temperatures that occur in campfires.
It weakens the argument as we need to give evidence regarding the use of fire by early hominids.

C The bone fragments were fitted together by the archaeologists to form the complete skeletons of several animals.
Irrelevant

D Apart from the Swartkans discovery, there is reliable evidence that early hominids used fire as many as 500 thousand years ago.
Our objective is 1 million yrs not .5 million

E Correct. This information links early hominids to these bone fragments and so strengthens the
argument.
Best Of All. Other choices have no link with fragments dating back 1 million years.

veenu08 wrote:Can an expert please help how to determine E as the answer.
This is something I am getting from ruling out the other options.