LSAT 8 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q17

LR Question 17 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Prehistoric wooden tools found in South America…

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: Jones concludes that attribution of the tools (who owned them) must have been incorrect. The tools were attributed to people who had migrated south from Alaska. He believes this was incorrect because no similar tools were found anywhere between Alaska and South America earlier than 13,000 years ago (when people were migrating southward.)

Smith believes Jones’ evidence is inconclusive. He thinks this because the tools in question were preserved in peat bogs. It is therefore possible that earlier tools further north simply decomposed because they had no peat bogs to preserve them.

ANALYSIS: The only real point at issue is whether Jones has sufficient evidence. Jones thinks he does, Smith doesn’t think he does.

But sufficient evidence for which conclusion? That’s where this question gets tricky. Jones thinks that the scientists are mistaken in their attribution of ownership of the tools. He thinks someone else made the tools (not migrants from Alaska.) It’s possible that people arrived in South America via another route.

Technically Jones doesn’t disagree with the dating. When I first did this question I made the mistake of misreading Jones’ conclusion.

___________

1. They don’t mention prehistoric tools outside of the Americas (and whether or not such tools are made of wood or other materials.) They can’t disagree on something they don’t mention.
2. CORRECT. Yes. Jones thinks it’s impossible for the dating to be correct. Smith thinks it’s possible that the dating is correct since Jones’ evidence is inconclusive.
    
   It is the word attribution that can fool people. Technically Jones is open to the possibility that the tools were dated correctly and belonged to people who arrived by a different route. There is a theory that Polynesians could have crossed the Pacific ocean to South America (for example.)
3. Technically Jones just said that the tools couldn’t have belonged to migrants from Alaska. But Jones might think the tools belong to some other people who arrived in South America by a different route. In that case the tools could have been correctly dated but ownership was attributed to the wrong people.
4. This is tempting. But the disagreement is about the date people arrived as far as South America. Neither Smith nor Jones talks about when they arrived in Alaska.
5. Smith doesn’t say that Jones is definitely wrong. Smith might in fact think it’s likely that the tool are incorrectly attributed. But strictly speaking he’s not convinced that Jones has sufficient evidence for a firm conclusion.

Recap: The question begins with “Prehistoric wooden tools found in South America”. It is a Point at Issue question. Learn how to master LSAT Point at Issue questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.