Archaeology as a profession faces two major problems.
First, it is the poorest of the poor. Only paltry
sums are available for excavating and even less is available
for publishing the results and preserving the sites
once excavated. Yet archaeologists deal with priceless
objects every day. Second, there is the problem of illegal
excavation, resulting in museum-quality pieces being
sold to the highest bidder.

I would like to make an outrageous suggestion that
would at one stroke provide funds for archaeology and
reduce the amount of illegal digging. I would propose
that scientific archaeological expeditions and governmental
authorities sell excavated artifacts on the open
market. Such sales would provide substantial funds for
the excavation and preservation of archaeological sites
and the publication of results. At the same time, they
would break the illegal excavator's grip on the market,
thereby decreasing the inducement to engage in illegal
activities.

You might object that professionals excavate to
acquire knowledge, not money. Moreover, ancient artifacts
are part of our global cultural heritage, which
should be available for all to appreciate, not sold to the
highest bidder. I agree. Sell nothing that has unique
artistic merit or scientific value. But, you might reply,
everything that comes out of the ground has scientific
value. Here we part company. Theoretically, you may be
correct in claiming that every artifact has potential scientific
value. Practically, you are wrong.

I refer to the thousands of pottery vessels and ancient
lamps that are essentially duplicates of one another. In
one small excavation in Cyprus, archaeologists recently
uncovered 2,000 virtually indistinguishable small jugs in
a single courtyard. Even precious royal seal impressions
known as/melekh handles have been found in abundance --
more than 4,000 examples so far.

The basements of museums are simply not large
enough to store the artifacts that are likely to be discovered
in the future. There is not enough money even to
catalogue the finds; as a result, they cannot be found
again and become as inaccessible as if they had never
been discovered. Indeed, with the help of a computer,
sold artifacts could be more accessible than are the
pieces stored in bulging museum basements. Prior to
sale, each could be photographed and the list of the
purchasers could be maintained on the computer. A
purchaser could even be required to agree to return the
piece if it should become needed for scientific purposes.
It would be unrealistic to suggest that illegal digging
would stop if artifacts were sold on the open market.
But the demand for the clandestine product would be
substantially reduced. Who would want an unmarked
pot when another was available whose provenance was
known, and that was dated stratigraphically by the
professional archaeologist who excavated it?


Hi,
I'm reading this passage and having issues identifying the correct answer choice for the following questions. If you could help me guide through the answer choices, that be great.
Many thanks!

*********************

The author implies that all of the following statements about duplicate artifacts are true EXCEPT:

A) A market for such artifacts already exists.

B) Such artifacts seldom have scientific value.

C) There is likely to be a continuing supply of such artifacts.

D) Museums are well supplied with examples of such artifacts.

E) Such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those already catalogued in museum collections.

---------------------------------

The author's argument concerning the effect of the official sale of duplicate artifacts on illegal excavation is based on which of the following assumptions?

A) Prospective purchasers would prefer to buy authenticated artifacts.

B) The price of illegally excavated artifacts would rise.

C) Computers could be used to trace sold artifacts.

D) Illegal excavators would be forced to sell only duplicate artifacts.

E) Money gained from selling authenticated artifacts could be used to investigate and prosecute illegal excavators.

----------------------------------

The author mentions the excavation in Cyprus (lines 31-34) to emphasize which of the following points?

A) Ancient lamps and pottery vessels are less valuable, although more rare, than royal seal impressions.

B) Artifacts that are very similar to each other present cataloguing difficulties to archaeologists.

C) Artifacts that are not uniquely valuable, and therefore could be sold, are available in large quantities.

D) Cyprus is the most important location for unearthing large quantities of salable artifacts.

E) Illegal sales of duplicate artifacts are wide-spread, particularly on the island of Cyprus.

P1: 2 Major Problems (1) lack of funds and (2) illegal excavation

P2: Outrageous suggestion on how to solve both problems in P1

P3: Possible objection that archaelogical excavation is to acquire knowledge, not money; The author qualified the artifacts for open market as those with no unique artistic merit or scientific value; not all artifacts have scientific value

P4: Example of duplicate artifacts in large number

P5: storage problem in museum; difficult to catalogue; so sell those in duplicates; marked artifacts are preferred over illegally excavated artifacts



*********************

The author implies that all of the following statements about duplicate artifacts are true EXCEPT:

A) A market for such artifacts already exists.
there are bidders in the illegal market - Yes!

B) Such artifacts seldom have scientific value.
duplicate and not rare items come in super large quantities... Go to Paragraph 3 and then followed by examples in Paragraph 4 -Yes!

C) There is likely to be a continuing supply of such artifacts.
The author mentioned: "The basements of museums are simply not large enough to store the artifacts that are likely to be discovered
in the future." - Yes!

D) Museums are well supplied with examples of such artifacts.
This one is a bit tricky. They mentioned an excavation in Cyprus with large supplies of duplicate artifacts. It wasn't mentioned that they were placed in Museum.. So I keep this - Yet I had doubt that this could be correct...

E) Such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those already catalogued in museum collections.
Now, quality.. this waasn't mentioned anywhere in the museum... The issue with catalogue was the difficulty of doing so..

Answer: E

The author's argument concerning the effect of the official sale of duplicate artifacts on illegal excavation is based on which of the following assumptions?

A) Prospective purchasers would prefer to buy authenticated artifacts.
This is in the last paragraph. "Who would want an unmarked
pot when another was available whose provenance was
known, and that was dated stratigraphically by the
professional archaeologist who excavated it?
"

B) The price of illegally excavated artifacts would rise.
Pricing was not mentioned anywhere... There was a mention of so called to the highest bidder but no such prediction of rising in price

C) Computers could be used to trace sold artifacts.
This is not one of the effects.... This was just mentioned to rest assure that sold artifacts are retrievable... This is something already occuring even before the proposal...

D) Illegal excavators would be forced to sell only duplicate artifacts.
The goal is to make illegal excavators decrease and not to sway them to sell a type of artifacts...

E) Money gained from selling authenticated artifacts could be used to investigate and prosecute illegal excavators.
Wow! This is nice but not mentioned.

Answer: A

The author mentions the excavation in Cyprus (lines 31-34) to emphasize which of the following points?

A) Ancient lamps and pottery vessels are less valuable, although more rare, than royal seal impressions.
These were mentioned to show the large supply of these artifacts.... Not to compare their value...

B) Artifacts that are very similar to each other present cataloguing difficulties to archaeologists.
Catalogue difficulty is because of lack of money

C) Artifacts that are not uniquely valuable, and therefore could be sold, are available in large quantities.
Bingo!

D) Cyprus is the most important location for unearthing large quantities of salable artifacts.
Wow! Not mentioned!

E) Illegal sales of duplicate artifacts are wide-spread, particularly on the island of Cyprus.[/quote]
Wow! No such association was made!

Answer: C