~The Pyramids~

the last wonder of the ancient world...

The Egyptian pyramids are pyramidal in form, with four triangular sides that meet at a point at the top; the New World pyramids are four-sided, flat-topped polyhedrons. Because both the Egyptian and the American structures are called pyramids, many people have erroneously assumed that the Egyptians influenced the rise of civilization in the New World.


The Egyptian pyramids were built from about 2700 BC to about 1000 BC; in the Americas, mound construction continued from 1200 BC until the Spanish conquest in AD 1519.


The Egyptian pyramids differ from the American in their shape but have some similarity in their use. The Egyptian pyramids served as royal tombs, and recent excavations increasingly indicate that tombs in the Americas were sometimes incorporated into pyramids as well. The American pyramids were also used for military defense and served as platforms for temples and palaces; they are called temple mounds or platform mounds by archaeologists.

~Index~