LSAT 158 – Section 4 – Question 09

LSAT 158 - Section 4 - Question 09

May 2020

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT158 S4 Q09
+LR
Point at issue: disagree +Disagr
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
8%
157
B
71%
163
C
16%
154
D
1%
158
E
4%
154
139
150
161
 +Medium 148.293 +SubsectionMedium

Robin: Archaeologists can study the artifacts left by ancient cultures to determine whether they were nomadic or sedentary. If the artifacts were made to last rather than to be quickly discarded, the culture was likely sedentary.

Kendall: But what artifacts a people make is determined largely by the materials available to them.

Speaker 1 Summary
Robin argues that archaeologists can determine if ancient cultures were nomadic or stayed in one place based on their artifacts. How is this possible? Well, long-lasting artifacts indicate a sedentary culture, whereas artifacts made to be quickly thrown away indicate nomads.

Speaker 2 Summary
Kendall comes to the unstated conclusion that artifacts’ longevity is not a good indicator of whether an ancient culture was nomadic or sedentary. This conclusion is supported by Kendall’s claim that peoples decided what artifacts to make based on the available materials, not their lifestyles.

Objective
We’re looking for a disagreement between Robin and Kendall. The two speakers disagree about whether a culture’s lifestyle can be reliably indicated by the durability of their artifacts.

A
the distinction that Robin makes between two kinds of cultures is illicit
Neither speaker makes this claim. Kendall disagrees with Robin about how useful artifacts are in making this distinction, but never takes issue with the underlying distinction between nomadic and sedentary cultures.
B
it is reasonable to assume that a culture whose artifacts were not durable was nomadic
Robin agrees and Kendall disagrees: this is their disagreement. Robin claims that durable artifacts are from sedentary cultures and non-durable artifacts from nomadic cultures. Kendall’s argument undermines the connection between artifact durability and cultural classification.
C
any evidence other than the intended durability of a culture’s artifacts can establish conclusively which of the two kinds of cultures a particular culture was
Neither speaker offers an opinion about this. Both Robin and Kendall focus entirely on what can be determined based on the durability of artifacts. Neither mentions other types of evidence.
D
the distinction that Robin makes between the different kinds of cultures is as important as many archaeologists have thought
Neither Robin nor Kendall talk about the importance of distinguishing between nomadic and sedentary cultures. Their discussion is about the use of artifacts when classifying cultures this way, not the merit of the classification.
E
studying a culture’s artifacts can reveal a great deal about the culture
Neither speaker offers a clear opinion about this. Robin thinks that artifacts can reveal a culture’s lifestyle, and Kendall thinks that artifacts are linked to available materials. However, we don’t know what counts as a “great deal” of information.

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LSAT PrepTest 158 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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