PrepTest 152, Section 4, Question 10
A traditional view of Neanderthals is that they(46 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- ANeanderthals are known(17 more words not shown)
- BNo species of(12 more words not shown)
- CThe ability to(15 more words not shown)
- DThe recent evidence(21 more words not shown)
- EAny species of(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What does making a cave painting tell us about thinking symbolically?
The painting is at least 40,800 years old, and the author concludes that it was probably made by a Neanderthal. Even if we accept that attribution, we still need a connection between making this kind of painting and having the mental ability the traditional view denies. Painting and symbolic thought aren't automatically interchangeable descriptions.
What we’re looking for
That is the assumption I'd predict: being able to create a painting like this indicates an ability to think symbolically. Otherwise, evidence of the painting wouldn't challenge the traditional view in the way the author claims.
Working the answers
- A
This is tempting. If a Neanderthal made the painting, that individual must have been capable of doing the work. But A says Neanderthals are known to have had the required manual dexterity. Actually possessing an ability and our already knowing about that ability are different.
Researchers could reasonably infer that a Neanderthal probably made the painting even without independently established knowledge of Neanderthal hand skills. The painting could itself contribute to what we learn about those skills. The argument needs the relevant capability if the attribution is right, but it doesn't need A's claim about what is known. That extra wording matters.
- B
No other hominid anywhere in Europe is much more than the argument requires. Another species could have existed elsewhere, or could have been a small minority, while a Neanderthal remained the likely painter. The conclusion is a likely attribution, not a claim that every alternative was impossible throughout Europe.
- CCorrect
This supplies the predicted link. If creating a painting like this indicates symbolic thinking, evidence that a Neanderthal created it bears against the claim that Neanderthals lacked that ability. Without that connection, the painting could tell us about an activity they performed while leaving their capacity for symbolic thought unsettled.
- D
This evidence doesn't need to be the first of its kind. There could have been earlier evidence suggesting symbolic thought, and this new finding could provide further support. The argument concerns what the painting indicates, not its place in the history of discoveries.
- E
This says an inability to make cave paintings establishes an inability to think symbolically. The argument needs the connection starting from an ability to make a painting, not from an inability. A species could think symbolically in some other way without painting, and that would not undermine this painting's proposed significance.
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