Toby Maxine Flatow, aged 10, of Houston, Texas for her question:
How do the pyramids of Mexico compare with those of Egypt?
The great pyramids of Egypt have always been in the public eye. They were rated as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. For close on 5000 years, generation after generation considered them the largest buildings in the world. Flat topped pyramids had been built in Babylon and old Assyria. But they had long since crumbled to piles of rubble. Then, imagine the excitement: In modern times a whole series of forgotten pyramids was discovered in Central America.
The largest pyramid of Egypt now stands some 450 feet high. Its sturdy square base covers over 13 .acres. Near Puebla in Mexico stands a pyramid whose base covers three times that area. However, it is only 177 feet high. The pyramids of Central America tend to be more squat than those of Egypt. They do not rise to a sharp pyramid point and the‑tops end as sizeable platforms.
The pyramids of Egypt were built of big slabs of durable stone. The pyramids of Central America are piles of rubble and mortar, faced with stone and plaster. And, so far as we know to date the pyramids of Central America have stood no longer than 1500 years.
The greatest difference between the old and new world pyramids is in the reasons why they were built, The pyramids of the pharoahs were made solely as tombs and monuments. The pyramids of Central America were centers of everyday life. They were dedicated to the worship of various gods and heroes. Outside Mexico City stands a massive mound.. It is 216 feet high and its base is 720 feet square. The Toltec Indians built this pyramid as a base for their temple dedicated to worship of the sun.
Did the Indians copy their pyramids from those in the Old World? The experts tell us that this is not likely. There was no way for the Indians to contact the Egyptians across the wide Atlantic. Most people think that the two peoples hit upon the pyramid idea unknown to each other. Yet the Mayan Indians have an old legend. Ages in the past, their legend goes a white, bearded stranger was shipwrecked on their shores. He was a wise man and taught them many things. He may have‑taught them how to make pyramids. How such a legend arose we do not know. If it is true, some ancient voyager from the Old World may have reached America long ago.. But we do not know whether it is true or how to explain it.
There is one more amazing fact about the pyramids of the Old World and the New, Both were built by farmers. The rice farmers of the Nile had plenty of spare time between harvest and seedtime.
During the slack seasons they often hired themselves out to work on the tombs of the Pharoahs. The Indians of Central America were corn farmers. Often they had 300 days a year with little or no work to do. It was during these slack seasons, we are told, that Indians of Central America made buildings that vied with one of the seven wonders of the world ‑. the pyramids of Egypt.