Passage Summary: Since the old apple remains found by archaeologists are small like wild apples, the scientist assumes people weren't farming them yet, because farmed apples today are big.

Conclusion: It is unlikely that apples were being cultivated in this specific region 5,000 years ago.

Reasoning: Cultivated apples today are larger than wild ones, and the only apple remains found from that era match the size of wild apples.

Analysis: The scientist is assuming that 5,000 years ago, cultivated apples would have already been significantly larger than wild ones. However, cultivation is a slow process of selective breeding; the very first cultivated apples might have been the exact same size as their wild ancestors. The argument fails to consider that the physical differences we see in modern produce might not have existed at the very start of agricultural history. Look for an answer that suggests the evidence of small size doesn't necessarily rule out the beginning stages of cultivation.