In the 1970s, a roughly 60,000-year-old piece of hyena bone marked with nine notches was discovered at a site in western France once inhabited by Neanderthals. Although many believe that only modern humans developed systems for notating numbers, one archaeologist asserts that this artifact may be a sign that Neanderthals also recorded numerical information. The notches on the bone are unevenly spaced but approximately parallel, and microscopic analysis reveals that they were made with a single stone tool; according to the archaeologist, this suggests that the notches were all made at one time by one individual as a means of counting something.

Question

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the underlined claim?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A) Parallel lines are a common feature in modern humans’ early systems for recording numerical information.
A
Parallel lines are a common feature in modern humans’ early systems for recording numerical information.
(Choice B) More than nine approximately parallel notches made with a different stone tool are present on another artifact found at a site in western France.
B
More than nine approximately parallel notches made with a different stone tool are present on another artifact found at a site in western France.
(Choice C) It would have taken careful effort to make evenly spaced lines on bone with the stone tools typically used by Neanderthals.
C
It would have taken careful effort to make evenly spaced lines on bone with the stone tools typically used by Neanderthals.
(Choice D) Decorative art discovered at another Neanderthal site in western France primarily features patterns of unevenly spaced parallel lines.
D
Decorative art discovered at another Neanderthal site in western France primarily features patterns of unevenly spaced parallel lines.

Answer 1

The underlined claim suggests that Neanderthals used the notches on the hyena bone as a means of counting and that this implies they had some form of numerical notation system.

To weaken this claim, we would look for evidence that suggests the notches may not have been used for counting or recording numerical information at all.

(Choice A) states that parallel lines are a common feature in modern humans’ early systems for recording numerical information. This does not directly address Neanderthals' potential use of the notches for counting and would not weaken the claim.

(Choice B) introduces another artifact with more notches, which could suggest a tradition of making notches but does not necessarily indicate it was done for numerical reasons as well.

(Choice C) suggests that making evenly spaced lines would have taken careful effort and implies that the unevenly spaced notches on the hyena bone may not demonstrate a systematic approach to counting. This could weaken the idea that Neanderthals intended the markings to represent numerical information by suggesting a lack of effort or planning typically associated with such notation.

(Choice D) presents evidence of decorative art featuring similar patterns, which might indicate that the notches were not meant to signify numerical values but rather served a different purpose. However, it does not directly negate the idea that the notches could still have served a numerical function at some level.

The best choice to most directly weaken the claim would be (Choice C), as it questions the systematic nature required to create an effective numerical notation system.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

C. It would have taken careful effort to make evenly spaced lines on bone with the stone tools typically used by Neanderthals.