LSAT 128 – Section 2 – Question 17

LSAT 128 - Section 2 - Question 17

December 2008

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT128 S2 Q17
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
5%
161
B
6%
162
C
70%
168
D
10%
163
E
9%
163
145
156
168
 +Harder 146.836 +SubsectionMedium

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Archaeologists excavating a Neanderthal campsite found discarded gazelle teeth there whose coloration indicated that gazelles had been hunted throughout the year. The archaeologists concluded that the Neanderthals had inhabited the campsite year-round and thus were not nomadic. In contrast, the archaeologists cite a neighboring campsite of nomadic Cro-Magnons that contained teeth from gazelles all killed during the same season.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the Neanderthals who had used a particular campsite had inhabited the campsite year-round and were not nomadic. This is based on the the fact that discarded gazelle teeth at the campsite showed that the gazelles were hunted throughout the year. This was unlike what was found in a nearby campsite of a nomadic Cro-Magnon group, which contained teeth from gazelles killed only during a single season.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that the only explanation for the presence of discarded gazelle teeth from gazelles hunted throughout the year is that the Neanderthals lived at the campsite all year.

A
Neanderthals hunted a wide variety of both migratory and nonmigratory animals.
If (A) does anything, it might support the theory that the Neanderthals stayed at the campsite by showing that Neanderthals did not need to follow a migratory animals around for food.
B
Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals sometimes exchanged tools.
An exchange of tools has no clear relationship to whether Neanderthals were nomadic or stayed in the same place. Perhaps the exchange of tools happened when the Cro-Magnons happened to be in the area around the Neanderthals.
C
Neanderthals saved gazelle teeth for use in religious rituals and later discarded them.
This provides another explanation for the presence of discarded gazelle teeth that showed gazelles were hunted throughout the year. The Neanderthals may have moved around, hunted gazelles as they moved, and then dumped the teeth they collected at one campsite.
D
Cro-Magnons usually followed the migrations of the animals they hunted.
This suggests that Cro-Magnons were nomadic. But Neanderthals are a different group and we have reason to think Neanderthals behaved differently from Cro-Magnons (the difference in gazelle teeth at each campsite).
E
Gazelles inhabited the area around the campsites year-round.
This supports the author’s theory by showing that Neanderthals could have stayed at the site year-round and hunted gazelles year-round. This eliminates the possibility that gazelles were in the area for only a short time each year.

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LSAT PrepTest 128 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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