Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archa

The given argument conclude that so-called Palean baskets, which have been previously believed to being made only by the Palean people, were not uniquely Palean. Although the argument sounds logical at the first glance, many additional evidences are required to appropriately assess the validity of such argument.

Firstly, author claimed that a "Palean" basket has been discovered in Lithos, outside Palean village, but it is uncertain to which extent this basket is similar to these found in Palean vicinity. Without knowing the exact extent how they are similar, we cannot conclude they belong to same class of Palean baskets: they might just look a bit similar because the people used the same kinds of material or similar tools to make such baskets. In either cases, the logic behind the argument becomes unsound and the argument that Palean baskets were made also made by Lithos people is significant weakened.

Secondly, the author reported the Brim River is very deep and broad so the ancient Paleans need to use boat to cross the river, however, the evidence that Brim river in the prehistoric period at the time Palean people lived has not changed significantly in comparison with present time. During the time, the area might undergo major geographic transformations and Brim River might only been created or broadened after the Palean period. If this is indeed the case, the trade between Lithos and Palean village was possible and the logic underlining argument is unwarranted.

Finally, even if the Brim River was indeed deep and broad in Palean time so that people could have crossed it only by boat, the good exchange between Lithos and Palean people might still occur. For example, Lithos people might have their own boat to go to Palean village to get the goods, including Palean baskets. It is also possible that there were a third party which was located in vicinity of Palean village, and this third party took the baskets from Palean people and sold them to Lithos people. Therefore, additional evidences about the trade of Palean people and Lithos with other villages and whether Lithos had boat or not are needed in order to assess the validity of the arguments that Lithos people could made Palean basket.

In conclusion, we need to have many additional evidences in order to get a complete understanding of the strengths and the weaknesses of the article. We need more information about the authentic Palean baskets and the basket found in Lithos. We also need more evidences about Brim river, whether it have changed over a long period of change. And we really need more information about the trade between Lithos and Palean villages and with other villages .