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.
Comments
What test and section are you referring to?
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.