Passage Summary: Some people think ancient pyramids in Egypt and the Americas prove these cultures met long ago. The archaeologist argues that because the pyramids were used for different purposes, there is absolutely no way those civilizations were connected.

Conclusion: There was definitely no historical link between Old-World and New-World civilizations earlier than currently documented.

Reasoning: While both the Egyptians and the Maya built pyramids, the Egyptian versions were used as tombs for rulers whereas the Mayan versions served as temples.

Analysis: The archaeologist's argument suffers from a classic case of over-extending a single piece of evidence. Just because one specific similarity (pyramids) has functional differences (tombs vs. temples) does not 'conclusively' prove that no contact ever occurred. There could be many other forms of contact or influence that have nothing to do with how a pyramid is used. When analyzing the flaw, look for an answer that points out the author treats a lack of similarity in one specific area as absolute proof that no relationship exists at all. The jump from 'these aren't identical' to 'there is no link' is far too large for a valid logical leap.