Summarize Argument
The author concludes that if a piece sold as amber contains an insect that looks normal, it is more likely to be fake than if the amber doesn’t contain a normal-looking insect. The author supports the argument by establishing that forgers often add normal-looking insects to fake amber in order to make more money.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that real pieces sold as amber are not as likely to contain normal-appearing insects as are forged amber pieces.
A
Amber is often sold by small shops and street vendors that take few precautions to ensure authenticity.
This is irrelevant. The author is only making a claim about what characteristics make pieces more likely to be fake, a claim for which it doesn’t matter whether certain types of vendors are trying to ensure authenticity.
B
Pieces of amber that contain fossilized life forms are generally larger than plain pieces of amber.
The sizes of different pieces sold as amber are irrelevant to the author’s claim about what kinds of pieces are more likely to be fake based on the appearance of the insects inside.
C
Amber that contains insects usually demands a higher price than does amber that contains small plants.
The relative price of amber based on what type of life form it contains is irrelevant; the author is only making a claim about what kinds of pieces sold as insect-containing amber are more likely to be fake.
D
It is very difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake amber without destroying some of it.
This is irrelevant, since the author is not discussing the authenticity of pieces sold as amber based on the amber material itself, but rather based on the appearance of the insects embedded in pieces sold as amber.
E
Insects struggling to free themselves from tree resin are usually fossilized in awkward or grotesque positions.
This strengthens the argument by affirming the assumption that real pieces of amber are not likely to contain normal-looking insects, because they are instead likely to contain awkward- or grotesque-looking insects (if they contain insects at all).