How Are Pyramids Built?

Ancient pyramids stand to this day.

Pyramids are the most well-known examples of architecture from the ancient world. Though Egyptian examples might be the first to come to mind, Mesoamerican cultures of Central America also employed the design and planned their communities around such structures. Serving as religious monuments, tombs and city centers in some cases, pyramids show the master craftsmanship and technological capabilities of early civilizations.

Egyptian Pyramids

Egyptian pyramids tower in the desert.

After an Egyptian pharaoh died, he was believed to go on to rule as Osiris, or King of the Dead. In order to do that, he needed his body preserved and to be surrounded by his worldly goods. Pyramids facilitated both criteria. The apex of the pyramid was designed to look like a benben, a stone representation of sun beams. The pyramid shape allowed the tombs to face all four directions.

Egyptian Building Technologies

The Great Pyramids at Giza.

Although it was once theorized that slaves and other captives built the massive structures, anthropologists now believe the construction was done by thousands of skilled workers. According to National Geographic, 20,000 to 30,000 workers labored during an 80-year period to construct the Valley of the Kings. Stones were quarried and carried down the Nile River when the waters were high. The placement of the pyramids was determined by astronomers and priests to ensure correct alignment with important constellations.
Once the foundation was laid, strong ramps were constructed and subsequent levels were built by dragging the quarried stones higher. Systems of ropes kept the structure level. Once the pyramid was complete, it was covered in a layer of white limestone and exterior paths and smaller buildings were added. From the inner core outward, all structural walls of the pyramids were made of carefully cut and fitted stones.

Mesoamerican Pyramids

The Aztec and Maya used their pyramids in daily life and ritual

Ancient cultures of what is now Mexico, Belize and other parts of Central America include the pyramid-building Aztec and Maya people. The Aztec and Maya used their pyramids to enact important rituals for daily worship of their gods.

Mesoamerican Technologies

Like the earliest Egyptian examples, Aztec and Maya pyramids were stepped. This type of construction is called "tablud-tablero," referring to the angled and flat placement of the stones. Unlike their older Egyptian counterparts, Mesoamerican pyramids were not built with solid layers of cut stone. Instead, they were walled on the inside, filled with rubble, then covered in stepped stones. Temples were built at the top of the pyramid, and massive stairs were added on the outside. Outer layers were covered with stucco and painted. Egyptian pyramids were built to last forever, but the Mesoamericans often remodeled their pyramids and were not concerned with creating eternal monuments.

Other Theories

Pyramids across the world have been attributed to alien technology.

New Age thinkers and alien aficionados have suggested everything from Atlantean technology to extraterrestrial influences to explain how ancient cultures built the pyramids. Some even postulate the Egyptians supervised the Mesoamericans, but science has debunked all of these theories. Pyramids of Mesoamerica weren't used for the same purpose as their Egyptian counterparts, and were built much later than those in Africa.

References

• National Geographic: Introduction to Pyramids
• Ancient Egypt.co.uk: Pyramids--Houses of Eternity:
• Anth507: Pyramids Schmeramids: Why the Pyramids of Egypt and Mesoamerica Do Not Share a Common Source

Resources

• Public Broadcasting System: Who Built the Pyramids?