It is clear that humans during the Upper Paleolithic period used lamps for light in caves. Though lamps can be dated ...

Mehran on May 2, 2016

@Joseph sure! Let's take a look.

The stimulus here a statement of facts stating that the distribution of known lamps during the Upper Paleolithic period is skewed, with the greatest number of lamps being associated with the late Upper Paleolithic period, when the Magdalenian culture was dominate.

This is a Bizarro Paradox question, so we are looking for the answer choice that CANNOT serve as a possible explanation for this skewed distribution of lamps.

(E) is completely irrelevant as this is not about the kinds of lamps, but rather the actual number of them.

Let's run through (A)-(D) just to make sure:

(A) is a possible explanation setting forth that artifacts from early in the Upper Paleolithic period are harder to identify than those from later in the period (i.e. fewer artifacts identified from earlier in the Paleolithic period).

(B) again is a possible explanation setting forth that more archaeological sites have been discovered from the Magdalenian culture than from earlier cultures (i.e. fewer archaeological sites discovered from earlier in the Paleolithic period).

(C) is a possible explanation setting forth that more efficient lamp-making techniques were developed by the Magdalenian culture than by earlier cultures (i.e. more efficient lamp-making techniques developed later in the Paleolithic period).

(D) is a possible explanation setting forth that fire pits were much more common in caves early in the Upper Paleolithic period than they were later in that period (i.e. more fires used in the earlier Paleolithic period).

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.