ANCIENT PYRAMIDS

ANCIENT PYRAMIDS

The great pyramids at Giza are one of the world’s architectural wonders, but Egypt is not
the only country to have such buildings. Remarkably, ancient pyramids have been discovered as far
apart as Mexico and China. What is fascinating is that, although many ancient cultures had little
or no contact with each other, they all decided to build the pyramid shape. What was the point?
Some were built as elaborate tombs, others as centers of worship.

Caral, Peru The pyramid at Caral was built around 4,500 years ago. This makes it about the same age as the pyramids in Egypt, and the oldest one in the Americas.

Another notable find on the site was a collection of musical instruments, including 37 coronets made of deer and llama bones and 33 flutes of unusual construction. The flutes were radiocarbon dated to 2170±90 BCE.

Huaca del Sol, Peru About 1,500 years ago, the Moche people made Huaca del Sol from 100 million mud bricks. It is now the biggest mud-brick building in the Americas.During the Spanish occupation of Peru in the early 17th century, the waters of the Moche River were redirected to run past the base of the Huaca del Sol in order to facilitate the looting of gold artifacts from the temple. The creation of this hydraulic mine greatly damaged the Huaca del Sol, and it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the structure has been lost to erosion and looting. The remaining structure stands at a height of 41 meters (135 feet). It is believed to have originally been about 50 meters in height. Looting and erosion due to El Niño continue to be major concerns to this day.

Altun Ha, Belize On this site is a vast pyramid built by the Mayan civilization about 2,000 years ago. It is thought to be a temple, with an altar for worship on top.Altun Ha is the name given ruins of an ancient Maya city in Belize, located in the Belize District about 30 miles (50 km) north of Belize City and about 6 miles (10 km) west of the shore of the Caribbean Sea. The site covers an area of about 5 miles (8 km) square. The ruins of the ancient structures had their stones reused for residential construction of the agricultural village of Rockstone Pond in modern times, but the ancient site did not come to the attention of archeologists until 1963. The Old Northern Highway connects Altun Ha to Belize's Northern Highway, and the site is accessible for tourism. The largest of Altun Ha's temple-pyramids, the "Temple of the Masonry Altars", is 54 feet (16 m) high. A drawing of this structure is the logo of Belize's leading brand of beer, "Belikin".

Copan, Honduras In this ruined city stands a pyramid and tombs, crafted 1,300 years ago by the Maya. Portraits of their rulers are carved into the stairway Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road. Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period right through to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers.

Cholula, Mexico Standing 216 ft (66 m) high, Cholula’s pyramid is the largest in the world by volume. It took 1,800 years to complete, and was dedicated to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

Teotihuacán, Mexico The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid ever built. It was constructed by the Aztecs 1,800 years ago as part of their city.

Tenochtitlán, Mexico The Great Temple was the center of the Aztec world, and the site of blood and sacrifice. Dead bodies were thrown down the 114 stone steps.

Cahokia, Illinois Named Monks Mound, this pyramid was made of soil about 800 years ago. It was North America’s biggest building until the Pentagon was constructed in 1943.

Tenerife, Canary Islands In 1998, six pyramids were discovered on the island of Tenerife. No one knows who built them, but they are said to be about 1,600 years old.

Sakkara, Egypt Thought to be the world’s oldest large stone structure, the 4,700-year-old stepped pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser was the first built in ancient Egypt.

Giza, Egypt Of the three famous pyramids at Giza, the 4,000-year-old pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu is the largest in Egypt and the most perfectly shaped pyramid of all.

Meroe, Sudan At least 220 small, steep, and beautifully formed pyramids were built by the Nubian kings about 2,000 years ago. It is thought that these are the ruins of a royal cemetery.

Helleniko, Greece There are three small pyramids in Greece, and some scholars think the one at Helleniko may be even older than Djoser’s step pyramid.

Chogha Zanbil, Iran This is one of many ziggurats (pyramid-shaped temples) found in the Middle East. It was built by the Elamites about 3,250 years ago.

Xi’an, China About 100 small pyramids were built 2,200 years ago, in the time of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Many of the pyramids were used as burial sites.

Yonaguni, Japan In 1985, a diver spotted some strange stone structures on the seabed off Japan. Some say they are constructed by humans and are at least 8,000 years old.

Gympie, Australia These terraced pyramids are said to have been built long before the Europeans reached Australia. Others say they are the remains of a 19th-century mine spoil heap.

Great White Pyramid, China During World War II, an American pilot glimpsed a gigantic, glistening white pyramid from the air, yet no one has ever found it on the ground.