Archaeologist: There were several sandstone statues of a female figure

Question

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Archaeologist:  There were several sandstone statues of a female figure excavated from an archaeological site of an ancient Mayan city dating back to 1300 BC. After several detailed studies on the shapes of these statues and the methods most likely employed to make them, the statues were divided into four categories exotic and minutely detailed statues of the female figure sculpted by the upper class men of the time, statues of the female figure in humble clothing sculpted by the lower class men of the time, statues of the female face with various expressions sculpted by the women of the time, and minimalistic statues of the female figure sculpted by the kids of the time. Owing to this knowledge, we will be able to determine, on the basis of how the statue is modelled, which section of the ancient society sculpted the next statue that we recover from the archaeological site.

Indicate two different statements as follows: one statement identifying an assumption required for the archaeologist’s argument and the other identifying a possible fact that, if true, would provide significant logical support for the required assumption.

jamesbond123321 · Accepted Answer

I think B is a better answer because it applies to the next statues to be recovered. C talks about artifacts those are already recovered. The given info talks about next statue to be recovered

Dream009 · Answer

What makes this less of a fact: Sandstone was the only material used for sculpting. and this more of a fact?All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone

Ba6a6a · Answer

A
C

Posted from my mobile device

Jyotwa · Answer

hey sajjad plz provide explanation for this solution

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

An assumption would be a proposition that must necessarily be true for the conclusion. Also, negating the assumption should make it impossible for the conclusion to hold.

Let’s evaluate each of the answer choices.

A.  The conclusion says that how the next-to-be-recovered statue is modeled will help determine which section sculpted it. So, a statement that says this statue will be one sculpted by the women of that time cannot possibly be an assumption.

B.  It is sandstone statues that are discussed in the argument. Whether or not materials other than sandstone were used for sculpting is not really relevant to the argument.

C.   Whether  "All other artifacts"  were statues made from sandstone is not important for the conclusion to be drawn and so cannot be an assumption.

D.  The argument presents no distinction of class among the kids. And this is not required to be assumed - its being true or false does not determine whether the conclusion can be drawn.

E.  Even if there was no overlap, it would be possible to determine which section sculpted the statue. This does not have to be true so cannot be an assumption.

F.  Yes.   This has to be true for the argument to hold and thus, qualifies as a fair assumption. Unless the statue is of a female figure made of sandstone, none of the techniques mentioned in the passage can be employed. Also, if we remove this assumption, we are not sure what type of statue the next statue would be and we cannot employ the already learnt knowledge about female statues on sandstone. In that case, the conclusion that we will be able to determine which section of the ancient society sculpted the next statue cannot hold true.

Hence, for the Assumption column, F is the correct answer choice.

Now that we have found the assumption, which of the remaining answer choices is a fact that would provide significant logical support for the required assumption? Clearly, C, All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone, is a supporting fact.

Hence, for the Possible fact column, C is the correct answer choice.

Vanshikakataruka · Answer

for the possible fact, why cant B be an answer?

illegallyblonde · Answer

I have the same question.

abdatta · Answer

Same question. B can also be a possible fact. This is not like an official GMAT question.

Posted from my mobile device

iampkd · Answer

Even I thought the same, still in doubt how C could be the correct answer?

vaishnavi454 · Answer

Option B is too extreme as it states that ONLY sandstone is used as a material. This is not the language of the passage so we can't assume that.

SmileAndSolve · Answer

✳️ ASSUMPTION: Which one is NECESSARY?
"The next statue to be recovered from the site will be a statue of the female figure sculpted by the women of the time."

❌ Too specific. This is not a necessary assumption, but rather a possible conclusion in one case.

"Sandstone was the only material used for sculpting."

❌ Not required. Even if there were other materials, the analysis might still apply as long as the new statue is sandstone.

"All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone."

❌ Too broad. Doesn’t relate directly to whether the next statue will be sandstone.

"Some of the statues were sculpted by the kids of the upper class as well."

❌ This contradicts the original classification. It undermines the theory by showing overlap.

"There was a considerable overlap of the different themes employed by the different sections of the ancient society in sculpting female figures on sandstone."

❌ This weakens the argument! If themes overlap, you can't confidently identify the sculptor.

✅ "The next statue to be recovered from the site will likely be a statue of the female figure made of sandstone."

✔️ YES! If the new statue is not sandstone or not of a female figure, the classification won’t apply. So this is a required assumption. ✳️ POSSIBLE FACT: Which one supports the assumption?
The assumption is:

“The next statue will likely be a female figure made of sandstone.”

So what fact supports this?

✅ "All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone."

✔️ YES! If all previous artifacts are sandstone statues, it's logical to expect the next one to be the same. So this supports the assumption well.

Mohak01 · Answer

It was real tough to select between option B and option C as a fact supporting the assumption. I choose B as in my opinion it strongly supports the selected assumption. Option C do support the premise that how there could be only 4 possible categories, but do not fully support future outcome as mentioned in argument.

Please assist where I went wrong.

Bunuel, bb, Sajjad1994

Please assist where I went wrong.

Bunuel ,  bb ,  Sajjad1994

bb · Answer

Hi.

All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone. (Statement 3)

This statement would indicate that every artifact found so far at the site has been a sandstone statue makes it much more likely that the next recovered piece will also be a sandstone statue (and, given the prior finds, a female-figure one), thereby bolstering the assumption that the archaeologist’s argument relies on.

If we just say that it is sandstone, we lose the statue piece and that makes the support weaker.

Does it make sense?

GMAT2point0 · Answer

Hey  bb

I didn't understand what you meant by 'we will lose the statue piece' if we say that it is made of sandstone.

Could you please clarify? Thanks!

cheshire · Answer

Hi, I can clarify

If we assume only that the  material is sandstone , and not that the artifact is a  statue , we  lose  the connection needed to apply the social-group categorization system.

In the question the archaeologist’s logic depends on both:
  1) It must be a statue , and
  2) It must be made of sandstone .

So, just assuming sandstone (without confirming it’s a statue) makes the support  weaker  because then we can’t analyze the  style  to infer who sculpted it (upper class, women, etc.).

This is why Statement 3, which confirms both  material  and  artifact type , is the stronger support for the required assumption.

suhaanimanektala · Answer

cheshire  why will we not consider option a for the possible fact? do we not need to include the constraint that it has to be a statue of a female figure since thats mainly what the passage talks about and bases the prediction upon?

cheshire · Answer

Option A essentially restates the conclusion rather than supplying any new background fact to support the assumption behind it.

Remember:
 
 The required assumption we picked was that “the next statue will likely be made of sandstone.” 
 A possible fact needs to lend support to that sandstone assumption, not simply re-assert which social group made the next female-figure statue.

Since (A) doesn’t address the material (sandstone) at all, it doesn’t help explain why we’d expect sandstone again. Instead, it just repeats who sculpted it, something already built into the archaeologist’s conclusion.

Archaeologist: There were several sandstone statues of a female figure

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Assumption	Possible fact
		The next statue to be recovered from the site will be a statue of the female figure sculpted by the women of the time.
		Sandstone was the only material used for sculpting.
		All other artifacts recovered from the archaeological site were statues made from sandstone
		Some of the statues were sculpted by the kids of the upper class as well.
		There was a considerable overlap of the different themes employed by the different sections of the ancient society in sculpting female figures on sandstone.
		The next statue to be recovered from the site will likely be a statue of the female figure made of sandstone.

GMAT Two-part Analysis (TPA) Questions

Archaeologist: There were several sandstone statues of a female figure

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My Rewards