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This is the conclusions at which I've arrived. If anyone can show me where I'm wrong I'd appreciate it in order to make sense of these questions, thanks!

The correct given answer to question 3 is E: that the Aurignacians sought to gain magical power through the paintings. This is a belief held by some anthropologists as mentioned in line 40. The author goes on to give evidence supporting the belief, and even gives words of affirmation, but this is no different than answer A, which suggests that the Aurignacians lived a more secure life. It too is a belief held by some anthropologists as seen in line 8, and while the support given can be argued to be that of the affirming anthropologists that are mentioned, the author does in fact go on to claim that belief (at least in part) as his own, owing to the fact that that he believes that within the Aurignacians there existed a “distinct group of artists” giving argument to the existence of “highly specialized social roles,” of which the author is in agreement according to the given correct answer to question 5:C. If we are to believe that answer A on question 3 is wrong on the basis that this is a belief held solely by the anthropologists and not the author (notwithstanding the agreement to the summarized claim given by the author in lines 17-22), then on those same grounds answer C to question 5 must also be wrong, given that it is an argument supplanted by the anthropologists in that same summary. Within these two questions there is an inconsistency and contradiction in the reasoning used to obtain the correct answers.

Hi Samus12,

There are a few other things which make (A) wrong. The first hint comes at line 11: "the reasoning goes." Usually this isn't included if the author agrees with the reasoning.

Then, the next paragraph: "Curiously, however..." The "however" sets off that this sentence is going to give us some counter information. And it does! We're told that the paintings were placed in specific locations for a specific purpose: to help catch animals.

Then the author comes right out and says it: "This makes it unlikely that these representational cave paintings arose simply out of a love of beauty or pride in artistry." That totally goes counter to the previous paragraph, because the previous paragraph was an ultimately uncompelling argument about how the cave paintings were done in the Aurignacians' free time. Now, in the last paragraph, we're given a completely different reason for the paintings: to gain magical power over their prey. If they were secure in their livelihoods, presumably they wouldn't need magical powers to subdue their prey.

The biggest nail in the coffin, though, is the first sentence of the last paragraph: "the Aurignacians . . . had to cope with the practical problems of extracting a living from a difficult environment." The author just says this directly, stating it as a fact, even though it's also part of an argument used by "many anthropologists."

Hope that helps clear things up.