Collectors prize the ancient life-size clay statues of human figures made on Kali Island but have long wondered how Kalinese artists were able to depict bodies with such realistic precision. Since archaeologists have recently discovered molds of human hea

The author predicts a decline in the value of life-size statues, and a rise in miniature statues because of the recently found molds and rareness of sculpting tools. This argument is flawed because of unwarranted assumptions.

First, how does the author assume that every life-size statue found on Kali is a mold and not a sculpture? Founding a few molds of hands and heads does not necessarily mean that every life-size stature found in the area is a mold. Maybe Kalinese artists only used them as primary aids to carve and shape sophisticated parts such as heads. It is also not mentioned that if the found molds have realistic precision as much as sculptures have or maybe they are just crude and rough molds. Furthermore, how do archeologists differentiate between molds and sculptures? The author needs to shed more light on these questions.

Second, the author claims that small number of found sculpting tools corroborates the fact that life-size sculptures are molds. If this claim is right, then the miniature statues are also molds, and are not made by sculpting tools, casting doubt on his prediction that miniature ones' value will go up. The author should provide more information regarding his assumptions.

Third, how do the collectors estimate that miniatures will increase in value while life-size sculptures decrease in value? Maybe, they all, including miniatures, reduce in value, since after finding a few molds on Kali they are all liable to be molds. The argument would have been stronger had the arguer provided information regarding the basis of their prediction for changes in sculptures values.

Because the argument makes several unwarranted assumptions, it fails to make a convincing case that life-size sculptures and miniatures will respectively decline and rise in value.