PT23.S3.Q06 - a purse containing 32 ancient gold coins

Deevotion

http://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-23-section-3-question-06/
i had quite a difficult time w/ question 3. During my timed approach I did not find an answer during the blond review I found the answer but only b/c it *seemed* the most plausible.

Excerpt from passage: ...important trading route linking China and Europe and it's a popular stopover for pilgrims on route between Morroco and Mecca.

Answer C: the purse "HAD" been brought to the ancient city by a pilgrim on route between Morocco and Meca

From the excerpt I'm concluding that the purse could potentially been brought by someone from China, Europe, Morocco, or Mecca. From the excerpt are we to assume that people accessing the trading port from China or Europe (don't stop over)?

What threw me off is the word (HAD) in the answer choice. Which is why I was reluctant to choose C as the answer. However, if the assumption is that those accessing the trading port don't stop over then it becomes a little more clear.

nicole.hopkins

Question 3 ... Of what

DumbHollywoodActor

I’d love to help.

What test and section are you referring to?

brna0714

This is PT23, S3, Q6. I'm working on an explanation now.

nicole.hopkins

@brna0714 said:
This is PT23, S3, Q6. I'm working on an explanation now.

Google sleuth!

DumbHollywoodActor

Wow! Well done, @brna0714

brna0714

Okay, in a MSS you'll have a little bit of wiggle room. We're told that 32 gold coins that were ALL minted in Morocco have been found. We're also told that the city where they were found is a trade route linking China and Europe and that it was also a stopover location for travelers moving between *Morocco* and Mecca.

Answer choice C is supported because we've pseudo-eliminated one other option, a trader (presumably like the kind on route from China to Europe) would carry a more diverse set of coins not 36 gold coins ALL minted in Morocco. That leaves the other option, "pilgrims on route between Morocco and Mecca."

The fact that the coins were minted in Morocco also supports the claim that they belonged to a pilgrim who started out in Morocco.

Don't be thrown by the word had in the answer choice, only a MSS. We do not need to prove this answer definitively and it really is the only one that receives any support from the stimulus.

EDIT: I can't spell pilgrim apparently.

brna0714

@nicole.hopkins and @DumbHollywoodActor - Thanks! haha What can I say? I know my way around some Google search results.

Deevotion

Thanks! I totally missed the piece about other traders Likely having more diverse coins.

brna0714

Glad to help!