argument 1
In this argument the arguer suggest that Woven baskets which used to be thought to have been made only by the Palean people were not uniquely Palean. In order to support his argument the author referred to that a basket resembling the Palean baskets are also discovered in Lithos as an evidence. However, as discussed below, the argument suffers from several critical flaws and is therefore unpersuasive.
In the first place, the author unfairly assumes that such “Palea” baskets found in Lithos are exactly the Woven baskets found in Palean. However it is not necessarily this case. More evidences are needed say, some professional researches on this two baskets to demonstrate that this two baskets found in different place are identical. No such reliable researches, no any sequent possibilities whatsoever.
In the second place, the author infers a past conditions from nowadays conditions, which is not reliable.Common sense tells us that some experiences that are available in current days are not the same with the past, since everything has been changing along time. Thus, the Brim River which is too deep and broad to cross without a boat nowadays cannot indicates that it is same in the past, since there are many possible factors can influence the result, such as the weather, the change in geologic. If the author can provide some geological responsible evidences to support it, readers will be well persuaded.
Moreover, the author concludes that for the deep and broad river between paleans and Lithos, the only way of crossing it was by boat. However no evidence showed to support author’s inference, this is not necessarily the case.If the river , just like what have discussed above, is not all long deep and broad, or if the ancient people are conversant with swimming or other skills that can help them to cross the river, this two groups of people may have a lot possible approaches to contact with each other, thus such Woven baskets which found in Lithos were highly possible to be brought to Lithos by Palean people. In addition, even if the only way to cross the river is by boat, no boats found is not exactly equals to no boat ever existed.
In a word/As a whole, the author fails to adequately support the conclusion that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean. To strengthen the argument, the author must provide clear evidence which can substantiate that the Brim River have been keeping deep and broad since previous days at least by geologic approaches and that the people who lived in Palea and Lithos had never communicated with each other etc.
