Some scientists believe that small humanoid skeletons found on an Indonesian island are the remains of human beings w...

Ravi on May 17, 2019

@ariczz,

Happy to help. I'm assuming you're referring to an explanation for
this question? I'm guessing this is the case, so I'll provide one
here.

The argument begins by giving us the opinion of some scientists, who
believe that small skeletons found in Indonesia are the remains of
humans who had a growth disorder. However, the author states that she
thinks it's more likely that these remains were from a distinct
species that became smaller because of environmental pressure. She
supports this by saying that the skeletons don't fit the normal growth
disorder patterns and that we also know that there exist other species
on the island that have evolved into smaller versions or their common
counterparts.

The question says, "Which one of the following most accurately
expresses the conclusion drawn in the argument?"

Looking at the stimulus, the author interjects at the start of the
second sentence by saying, "It is more likely that they represent a
distinct human species that became smaller over time due to
environmental pressure." The rest of the stimulus is used as support
for this statement so we can be confident that the second sentence of
the stimulus is the overall conclusion in the argument.

Let's look for an answer that captures this.

(B) says, "It is more likely that the humanoid skeletons represent a
distinct human species than that they are the remains of human beings
with a growth disorder."

(B) matches our anticipation really well and paraphrases the second
sentence of the stimulus. This is the correct answer choice.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!