▶ Your Answer :
The
argument concludes that so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean as a
Palean basket was also found in Lithos, another ancient city. This conclusion
is based on the premises that the Brim River between two cities acted like a
natural barrier, that Palean people didn’t use boats as no boat remnant has been
found in Palea, and that Palean baskets might not be transported into Lithos later
in time. At first glance, the argument would seem persuasive; however, closer
scrutiny of the argument reveals that it lacks appropriate support or evidence
and is therefore problematic as it stands.
First
of all, the speaker premises that the Brim River between two cities acted as a natural
barrier and there was no interaction between two cities because the only way to
cross the river was using a boat, and no ancient boat has been found in Palea.
True as it may be that Palean baskets could not transported by boats, Palean
baskets might have been transported into Lithos through the land road. There is
no evidence that Palean and Lithos were not connected through the land road and
its possibility does not rule out the interaction between two cities despite the
river as a natural barrier.
Secondly,
the absence of ancient Palean boats does not necessarily rule out the
possibility of using boats at that time. It might be true that the remnants of
boats are just not found because they are still buried in the ground or in the
deep riverbed. Another possibility is that the remnants disappeared when
experiencing the long history of erosion. The possibility of these events
indicates the possible usage of boats by ancient Palean people. If this is true,
the Palean baskets might have been transported into Lithos by boats.
Lastly,
Palean baskets might be transported into Lithos later in time or Lithos people
might learn weaving skills for Palean baskets from Palean people. For instance,
the basket found in Lithos might be made by later people who knew the existence
of Palean baskets. The speaker did not suggest any evidence that the basket
found in Lithos was the same age of general Palean baskets found in Palea.
Radiocarbon dating of remnants might provide the age of the basket, and would
rule out the possibility of this.
In
sum, the argument fails to address any of these potential situations. If any of
this is true, it would severely weaken the premises of the argument. Without
ruling out these possibilities, thus, the speaker’s conclusion would be false. |