why pyramids?

Im sure there are several theories on this however im curious as to why many civilaztions chose a pyramid shape structure. These cultures such as the aztecs, myans, egyptians and such have showed they had engineering skills as well as inginuity in thier designs in building and providing air shafts and such but why use a pyramid shape? why not a normal old sqaure? To my understanding the slave workers lived in huts that conform to what i would consider a conventianal building so why not just build a mostrosity of a normal building with ecentricities within it? It just seems odd that so many cultures so far apart would come up with basically the same design. I would say that the elements had a factor in designing these structures but again you have different parts of the world which all have different enviroments so why the same structure? Im sure im missing something obvious ..........

The one logical thought I have about the reason for the shape of the pyramid is that it would require less stone to build a pyramid shape. Any other shape (square, rectangle) would require a lot more stone to reach the height they wanted.

Also, assuming they wanted these pyramids to stand out, the rising pointed structure would be more aesthetically pleasing compared to the flat landscape of the desert. Just my opinion of course.

IMO, the pyramid shape allowed the structure to be very tall (which would feed the egos of the pharohs they were built for) and very stable at the same time. It only required simple geometry to accomplish, along with crude tools and a massive workforce. Now of course this subject alone is open for much debate and scrutiny, simply due to the fact that the origins of the pyramids and the builders of them are an issue of much contrversy. But, if you beleive they were man made during a time that advance tools and equipment didn't exist, then the pyramid shape would allow for the biggest bang for your buck.

That logic popped into my head but given the tiny size of the rooms and passages within the pyramids its obvious not having enough stone wasnt a consideration. Its like using like using 100ft square logs in order to build a garden shed. The only reason i can think of as to why they used such excess in order to build rooms that combined cover less square footage then an average house is just to be excentric like showing off. The mentality im a king so i should have something 100 times the size of a peasant im sure came into play but the shape of a pyramid being chosen still puzzles me.

I too beleive it came down to the whole idea that "size matters" to the Pharohs. And mass too But, one reason could be that the builders knew that it had to be solid throught, with little holoow areas, just to support the weight alone. With no available support beams, it's not like they could run steele beams through the pyramid. to keep the weight of the stones from imploding on itself. The only way to do that was to stack the stones on themselves throught the mass of the structure all the way to the top.

But the different sorts of pyramids aren't very much the same. The central america pyramids have temples on the tops, steps on the outside, and only one as far as i know had any bodies buried in it. the ziggurats in sumer weren't quite like the egyptian pyramids, and the egyptian pyramids are the only ones that are really 'pyramidal'. The evolution of egyptian pyramid design has been researched quite a bit, and basically it seems to have stared with building large rectangular chambers, then stacking one, and then more and more atop one another.

But, even so, a pyramid shape probably the easiest shape to build, so most of these ancient civs should be building them anyway. Also , often, in their mythologies, there is the idea of a sacred world mound, and its thought that, at least in the egyptian version, that the pyramid replicates this and other mountains, where, so to speak, the earth meets heaven and whatnot.

Ok, from a 'rational' standpoint (this is for the skeptics), if you take a handful of sand, and pour it on the ground, what shape does it make? That's right, it makes a 'pyramid' shape. That is because it is one of the strongest structures a person can build. Really simple. So, from the 'rational' part of me, I would assume that it was common observation. I do have my other theories, though... not 'mine', per se, but the ones that I feel are more credible, but these don't include EVERY pyramid stucture ever found on earth.

The only thing is that i can see very little rationality in building one in the first place. You take a few thousand slaves , work them to death for a few years to build a big mound that has less room them most double wide trailers only to have your body sealed in it.The whole thing Doesnt seem very rational to me in the first place.

As for the pyramids differing around the world yes this is true , the south american pyramids have flats on top of them so they are lacking the tip to make a pyramid however they are quite similiar in thier structures.

For the people who still doubt they could have been human constructions i offer you this ...... This weekend by myself i moved a 600 pound pallet like structure over 50 ft using nothing more then a few pieces of firewood and a log. Now if i can move 600 pounds myself and im no where near physically fit nor am i a large man just imagine how much ten or 20 men could move. By the way the pallet is 8 ft by 12 and made out of oak hard wood flooring with oak beams and it came off a truck that delivered some metal my work bought and on the invoice it shows the pallet weight at 612 pounds thats how i knew how much it weighed. ( im using it for a floor in an outdoor shed)

Well I don’t know but I read sometime ago some calculations between the time they started to the end they must at least set 1 stone every ca 5 minutes to reach the finish line of the pyramids building time.

Much has been said of the power of the pyramid.. that food placed under one will not spoil.. that razor blades will not rust...etc etc.. well as a matter of fact... there's a certainly validity to those claims.. Ok......... Why ? Its just a shape right ? While in one respect yes..
just the same as the circle, the pentagon, the pentagram,
even the flower of life are all just shapes.. but they are much more...
the pyramid is no exception ...this is all speculation...

Take a look at these sights....

www.peter-thomson.co.uk...

www.theforgottentechnology.com...

Rational or not, it was very possible to perform this feat! Think about it though, why do we ahve structures like the Empire State Building, or the Seatle Space Needle, or any other massive structure made by man. Are they rational? Are they really needed? Nope, they are there to feed the ego of the builder. They are sign of what we are capable of doing. The Pharohs considered themselves as gods, so they demanded a godlike structure. Nothing rational about that, but that's not the point.

The people who built the pyramids weren't slaves in all likelyhood, but rather skilled and unskilled workers. Perhaps there was something of a conscription element to the labour, but generally they were 'free men'. Zahi Hawass was responsible, I beleive, for excavating one of the temporary worker cities/labour camps involved in this.

I have even heard some say that this large scale nation wide building program was part of the reason why egypt was so 'nationalized' for its time, and why it had such a strong national character. People from all over the country came in and worked together.



work them to death for a few years to build a big mound that has less room them most double wide trailers only to have your body sealed in it.The whole thing Doesnt seem very rational to me in the first place.


They have entire temple complexes and sacrificial alters on their tops, they're decorated and even heard framed stairways leading up them. They're more like ziggurats than pyramids really (imo).



Bah, wimp. I can move the same with just one peice of firewood and a log, mwa hahaha.


You mean you're not building a vessel to transmit your embalmed body to the heavens or to resurrect it thousands of years after its death?


No there isn't, food in a pyramid rots and razors in them don't sharpen. I recall even hearing that they put blades in one of the actual pyramids, not just a modern manufactured one, and, obviously, the blade didn't get sharper

[edit on 15-9-2004 by Nygdan]

Thought this may be of interest:

www.subtleenergies.com...

When we can work out what energy structure creates the tips of natural crystals, then we will probably have a better understanding of pyramids.

And another:

www.pmicro.kz...

'Energy Structures' don't create the tips of crsytals or any other crystal shapes. Crystalography and mineralogy are relatively well understood and don't involve the rather questionable 'energies' that are observed in 'kirlian' photography. Crystals form naturally as a result of atomic packing rules, along with considerations of the makeup of the mineral(s) involved and even what kind of composition the melts and solids involved have. Not 'energies'.

i dont know if anyone already said this but,

if you give a little kid building blocks (not lego), chances are the first thing he will build is a straight tower and eventually it will fall over.

now if this is a smart kid he will try and make his tower higher by giving it supports. and eventually you will get to the pyramid shape.

but ultimetly it was the egos that fueled this search for the height.

Actually, the great pyramids won't work... they are no longer smooth since all the capstones were taken. It doesn't collect the energy in such an organized fashion... the rough sides scatter the energy, much like a reflector scatters light. There are alot of research into pyramid energy (or, technically, how exactly a pyramid collects and concentrates this energy), and, just as there are in other fields, there are 'bogus' researches goin on as well. Lost all my links, but if you do some extensive searches on 'google', you will find some very legitimate claims. Not arguing, just FYI. Check it out for yourself.

The thing about the Giza pyramids over the other world pyramids, is the exacting structure... how it not only falls on the center of the earths ladmasses, but more about how the sides have the exact same curve as the earth... not to scale, but the SAME curve. This is supposed to help collect that much more energy, and actually incorporate the pyramid and the earth together to collect and center that energy. Also, look up 'Ethereal Energy' and Pyramid in the same search... lots of info, though you will have to go through several pages to get something that isn't being 'sold' (man, money pisses me off sometimes, lol).

*EDIT: Forgot to mention... junior, that is kinda what I was getting at as well, in my earlier post. Simple observance of the properties of structure shape. Even the american plains dwellers used this structure, a Teepee. When you build a fire, the best way to get it going is by forming a pyramid structure, and packing the inside with kindling. Even the Empire State Building has somewhat of a pyramid structure to it. Junior, help me out... we could make a very extensive list of pyramid structures, that are mand-made. I think this is really the most logical conclusion, really. And, to have a building like the Aztecs and such did, is powerful... especially when you are the one on top of it (as a priest, or whatever... as long as you aren't the sacrificial 'lamb', I guess )

[edit on 16-9-2004 by Earthscum]

Where has this been verified? What tehy are saying is that if you take a line from pole to pole over the longest continuous land mass, that it passes through the pyramids (where exactly, giza, the great pyramid, what?) and that the same happens for a 'vertical' line, but where has this even been verififed?


What curve?


What 'energy'? If it has an affect on stuff then it should have an effect on equipment that can measure and study it. Where are those studies?


Because teepees are very effective at standing up in high winds.


Because that allows air to be drawn into the fire


Its a rectangle with a point on top.


What conclusion? That pyramids are 'magic' or something?


The aztecs didn't build the mexican structures, and these structures simply don't resemble the egyptian pyramids in any particular detail. Yes, they're wider at the base than at the top, but thats a very natural shape for a building to take anyway. Not because of magic, but because of physics.

Pyramids were built to stand the tests of time.

It's only speculation for people who haven't tried these experiments. The pyramids aren't just "conveniently shaped"... they are geometrically perfect. PI. The design is to channel energy. Kind of like a watch powered by quartz. Why they are designed to channel energy, I don't know. But I do own a good sized glass pyramid, and I have tried all of these experiments. They work.