Native Americans who traded with Europeans. Debatable question

Question

Line
Exactly when in the early modern era Native
Americans began exchanging animal furs with
Europeans for European-made goods is uncertain.
What is fairly certain, even though they left
(5)
no written evidence of having done so, is that
the first Europeans to conduct such trade during
the modern period were fishing crews working the
waters around Newfoundland. Archaeologists had
noticed that sixteenth-century Native American
(10)
sites were strewn with iron bolts and metal
pins. Only later, upon reading Nicolas Denys’s
1672 account of seventeenth-century European
settlements in North America, did archaeologists
realize that sixteenth-century European fishing
(15)
crews had dismantled and exchanged parts of their
ships for furs.
By the time Europeans sailing the Atlantic coast
of North America first documented the fur trade, it
was apparently well underway. The first to record
(20)
such trade—the captain of a Portuguese vessel
sailing from Newfoundland in 1501—observed that a
Native American aboard the ship wore Venetian silver
earrings. Another early chronicler noted in 1524 that
Native Americans living along the coast of what is now
(25)
New England had become selective about European
trade goods: they accepted only knives, fishhooks,
and sharp metal. By the time Cartier sailed the Saint
Lawrence River ten years later, Native Americans had
traded with Europeans for more than thirty years,
(30)
perhaps half a century.

Question:
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about evidence pertaining to the fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans in the early modern era?
A) A lack of written evidence has made it difficult to establish which Europeans first participated in this trade.
B) In general, the physical evidence pertaining to this trade has been more useful than the written evidence has been.
C) There is more written evidence pertaining to this trade from the early part of the sixteenth century than from later in that century.
D) The earliest written evidence pertaining to this trade dates from a time when the trade was already well established. 
E) Some important pieces of evidence pertaining to this trade, such as Denys’s 1672 account, were long overlooked by archaeologists.

The correct answer is D. Why?
The question asks about evidence pertaining to the fur trade in the early modern era. Lines 7-10 talk about iron bolts and metal pins, which were found in the 16th century. 
After reading Nicolas Denys's writings (1672, 17th century), archeologists realized that European fishing crews exchanged ships parts for furs. My conclusion is that, archeologists had no idea why there were bolts and pins(16th century), but later, in the 17th century they decided to read the writings and found the answer after 100 years. They definitely overlooked evidence for a long period of time.

Chethan92 · Answer

Guest2019 , It's better to continue the discussion here  https://gmatclub.com/forum/exactly-when-in-the-early-modern-era-native-americans-began-exchanging-242703.htm

Bunuel , Can you delete this post.?

globaldesi · Answer

Afc0892 
getting 404 page error on your link given

Chethan92 · Answer

It should have been html at the end of the link. sorry for that  https://gmatclub.com/forum/exactly-when-in-the-early-modern-era-native-americans-began-exchanging-242703.html

Native Americans who traded with Europeans. Debatable question

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