Salt deposits and moisture

[morningdew123]

Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of Tigris and Euphrates.

a. same
b. that had flourished at the same time as had the civilizations
c. that flourished at the same time those had
d. flourishing at the same time as those did
e. flourishing at the same time as those were

The construction is same x as y, where x and y are parallel....here, are we not comparing "time" with "civilizations"....

Is this construction correct? "same time as the time of civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of Tigris and Euphrates.

[debmalya.dutta]

is the OA - A?

[RonPurewal]

Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of Tigris and Euphrates.

a. same
b. that had flourished at the same time as had the civilizations
c. that flourished at the same time those had
d. flourishing at the same time as those did
e. flourishing at the same time as those were

The construction is same x as y, where x and y are parallel....here, are we not comparing "time" with "civilizations"....

Is this construction correct? "same time as the time of civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of Tigris and Euphrates.

these sorts of comparisons ("as ___ as", "more ___ than", etc.) are more flexible than you think they are.
certainly, the words that FOLLOW "as" or "than" must be included in one of the parallel structures. however, you have a certain amount of freedom regarding your choice of the left-hand parallel structure.
for instance, both of the following constructions are correct:
i have more apples than oranges.
i have more apples than my brother (does).
in the first of these cases, the right-hand parallel structure is automatically "oranges", since that's what follows "than". in that case, context dictates that the left-hand parallel structure be "apples".
in the second of these cases, the right-hand parallel structure is automatically "my brother (does)", since that's what follows "than". in that case, context dictates that the left-hand parallel structure be "i (have)".

--

in the sentence above, the right-hand parallel structure must be "the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of Tigris and Euphrates". in this case, then, the left-hand parallel structure is "an ancient civilization".
the construction is identical to that of the above example with "my brother" and "i".

[acethegmat]

Ron, are we comparing 'flourished' here or 'civilizations'? The sentence sounds like:- The civilizations flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile ..... So doesn't it imply - X flourished at the same time as Y? Shouldn't it mean that - X flourished at the same time as Y flourished?

Also, what is the difference between - 'same time that' and 'same time as'?

Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

Ron, are we comparing 'flourished' here or 'civilizations'? The sentence sounds like:- The civilizations flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile ..... So doesn't it imply - X flourished at the same time as Y? Shouldn't it mean that - X flourished at the same time as Y flourished?

both of those versions would be correct, but there is no reason to include the extra verb unless the sentence is ambiguous without it.
for a copious treatment, with lots of examples, see this link:
post34683.html#p34683

Also, what is the difference between - 'same time that' and 'same time as'?

Thanks.

where do you see "same time that"? i don't see that anywhere in this problem.
i'd be suspicious of that construction in general, but, before discussing it further, i'd like to see an official problem(s) in which you've seen it.