Although the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions written in an alphabet date from the eighth century B.C., a strong case can be made that the Greeks actually adopted alphabetic writing at least two centuries earlier. Significantly, the text of these earliest surviving Greek inscriptions sometimes runs from right to left and sometimes from left to right. Now, the Greeks learned alphabetic writing from the Phoenicians, and in the process they would surely have adopted whatever convention the Phoenicians were then using with respect to the direction of writing. Originally, Phoenician writing ran in either direction, but by the eighth century B.C. it had been consistently written from right to left for about two centuries.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

• AThe first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second reports a discovery that has been used to support a position that the argument opposes.  
• BThe first is the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.  
• CThe first presents evidence that is used in support of the position that the argument seeks to establish; the second presents an assumption on which the argument relies.  
• DThe first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is the position that the argument seeks to establish.  
• EThe first is an objection raised against a position that the argument opposes; the second is evidence that has been used to support that position.