During a Recent Excavation, Fragments of a Ceremonial Urn Dating Back

Question: During a recent excavation, fragments of a ceremonial urn dating back around 1500 years were discovered in a New Mexico canyon. Prior to this finding, it was believed that the Pueblo tribes who lived in the area around that time made their pottery by hand. However, further investigation revealed that the light brown clay used to create the urn, popularly known as ‘golden clay,’ could only have been fashioned into an urn with the use of a pottery wheel.

Which of the following, if true, would, together with the information above, provide the best basis for the conclusion that the fragments of the urn are evidence that the Pueblos used the pottery wheel?

1. The remains of a pottery wheel have been unearthed at a Pueblo site in Utah, a finding that predates the discovery of the urn fragments.
2. There is undeniable evidence that the Pueblo tribes who lived in the New Mexico area a millennium ago made frequent use of the pottery wheel.
3. Flooding can soften the texture of clay to an extent that it can easily be molded by hand, and there is evidence that the now-dry canyon once received a considerable amount of rainfall.
4. Golden clay is commonly used by modern-day descendants of the Pueblos to create decorative pieces that can only be made by artists who have mastered the use of the pottery wheel.
5. An examination of the surface of the urn fragments has revealed traces of an iron oxide called hematite that was a common ingredient of the paint used in the Pueblo rock art found in caves.

ANSWER: E. 
EXPLANATION: This is a GMAT critical reasoning question. An assumption is an implied hypothesis. So we are looking for something that is implied in the argument. In case it is wrong or maybe disable the argument.
Let us analyse the assumptions to get the correct one that fits the argument.

1. The remains of a pottery wheel have been unearthed at a Pueblo site in Utah, a finding that predates the discovery of the urn fragments.
   We are discussing a specific time in Pueblo history, not one that occurred earlier or later. OUT of the question
2. There is undeniable evidence that the Pueblo tribes who lived in the New Mexico area a millennium ago made frequent use of the pottery wheel.
   Once again, we are seeking information from a time period that occurred 1500 years ago. Not the right one.
3. Flooding can soften the texture of clay to an extent that it can easily be molded by hand, and there is evidence that the now-dry canyon once received a considerable amount of rainfall.
   Not the right one we looking for.
4. Golden clay is commonly used by modern-day descendants of the Pueblos to create decorative pieces that can only be made by artists who have mastered the use of the pottery wheel.
   There is no evidence to suggest that the Pueblos had perfected the craft 1500 years prior.
5. An examination of the surface of the urn fragments has revealed traces of an iron oxide called hematite that was a common ingredient of the paint used in the Pueblo rock art found in caves
   Therefore, there is a common element that can be connected to that particular time period. Thus, it is even more significant that the urns were created at that period and by Pueblos rather than being merely imported from somewhere else. and hence it's the right answer.

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