Have you ever noticed that pyramids are scattered all over the globe? They are found in places like Egypt, Mexico, and beyond. The reasons behind their construction vary, but there are some common threads. In ancient Egypt, pyramids served as tombs for pharaohs, symbolizing their power and authority. In Central and South America, cultures like the Maya, Aztec, and Inca built pyramids for religious and ceremonial purposes, often within temple complexes dedicated to their deities. In other regions like China and Indonesia, pyramids were constructed as tombs for rulers or religious structures, reflecting similar cultural and spiritual themes.
Credit:
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/:
Meroe at sun rise: Valerian Guillot - https://flic.kr/p/DJbkrt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meroe_at_sun_rise,_Sudan.jpg
Inside Meroe Pyramid: Laurent de Walick, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_Meroe_Pyramid.jpg
Snefru hed-seb festival: Juan R. Lazaro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snefru_hed-seb_festival.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/:
Burial Chamber: Hans Birger Nilsen - https://flic.kr/p/TvEBa2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burial_Chamber_of_the_tomb_of_Tanutamani_(2)_(33809906071).jpg
Sumerian Cylinder Seal: Steve Harris, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg
Sun Front: Malkowo, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teotihuacan_Sun_Front.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/:
Nubian Prince: EditorfromMars, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nubian_Prince_Hekanefer_bringing_tribute_for_King_Tut,_18th_dynasty,_Tomb_of_Huy.jpg
Portrait head of pharaoh: ArchaiOptix, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_head_of_pharaoh_or_prince_from_Giza_01.jpg
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit:
http://www.brightside.me
Credit:
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/:
Meroe at sun rise: Valerian Guillot - https://flic.kr/p/DJbkrt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meroe_at_sun_rise,_Sudan.jpg
Inside Meroe Pyramid: Laurent de Walick, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inside_Meroe_Pyramid.jpg
Snefru hed-seb festival: Juan R. Lazaro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snefru_hed-seb_festival.jpg
CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/:
Burial Chamber: Hans Birger Nilsen - https://flic.kr/p/TvEBa2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burial_Chamber_of_the_tomb_of_Tanutamani_(2)_(33809906071).jpg
Sumerian Cylinder Seal: Steve Harris, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg
Sun Front: Malkowo, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teotihuacan_Sun_Front.jpg
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/:
Nubian Prince: EditorfromMars, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nubian_Prince_Hekanefer_bringing_tribute_for_King_Tut,_18th_dynasty,_Tomb_of_Huy.jpg
Portrait head of pharaoh: ArchaiOptix, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_head_of_pharaoh_or_prince_from_Giza_01.jpg
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit:
http://www.brightside.me
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Before we get into the reason why and how there are pyramids all around the world, let's
00:06talk about some of the examples.
00:09I'll start with the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico.
00:15These folks really knew how to build a city.
00:18Their well-planned urban center spanned over 7 square miles and boasted several pyramids.
00:24But the Pyramid of the Sun is the most impressive.
00:28This giant pyramid was built way back in 100 CE and is one of the biggest structures
00:33of its kind in the whole Western Hemisphere.
00:37It's so big that it's 216 feet high above the ground.
00:43If you ever find yourself in this ancient city, you won't be able to miss the Pyramid
00:47of the Sun.
00:49It's right there on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead, the city's main north-south street.
00:56To build this incredible pyramid, around 1 million cubic yards of material were used,
01:01including a special kind of red volcanic rock called Hugh Tizontal.
01:07Impressive, huh?
01:09We don't know too much about the people who built the Pyramid of the Sun or its purpose,
01:14but archaeologists believe there was once a temple on top of it.
01:20When explorers went below the pyramid in the 1970s, they found a bunch of cool tunnels
01:25and chambers.
01:27In 2011, they even found a secret stash of clay pots, obsidian pieces, animal bones,
01:35human figurines, and a mask.
01:38Who knows what other secrets the pyramid is hiding?
01:43If you decide to see this one, you must climb the pyramid using the 248 uneven steps on
01:49the west side.
01:50Watch your step!
01:54Sudan got some pyramids too!
01:56Nubian pyramids aren't as big as the ones in Egypt, but they still got around 200 of
02:01them.
02:03These ancient pyramids have been home to the tombs of the pharaohs of the Meroitic Kingdom
02:07for almost a thousand years, who ruled Egypt from Nubia to the Mediterranean Sea.
02:13The pyramids at Meroe were constructed using granite and reddish sandstone.
02:19Oh, and did you know that Sudan has more ancient pyramids than Egypt?
02:26The Kushite pyramids depict the indigenous architecture and burial traditions of Nubia's
02:31Napata and Meroe kingdoms, which ancient Egypt influenced.
02:36Meroe, the burial site of over 40 queens and kings, is the most extensive Nubian pyramid
02:43site.
02:44The tomb walls depict mummified royals bedecked in jewelry, their wooden caskets containing
02:50bows, quivers of arrows, and other artifacts pointing to the Meroitic relationship and
02:55trade with Egyptian and Greek civilizations.
03:00So if you're looking for some ancient tombs to explore, you may consider skipping the
03:04crowds in Egypt and heading on down to Sudan.
03:09Let's fly to Iraq to see some more pyramids!
03:14Pyramids have fancy receding layers and tiered temples.
03:18Instead of a smooth exterior, it has tiers like a cake, perfect for all the important
03:23work and rituals that went on inside.
03:27You can find these towering structures scattered throughout Iraq and Iran, and they're a real
03:32testament to the power and skills of the people who built them.
03:37One of the biggest and most impressive ziggurats is the Ziggurat at Ur.
03:41It's basically a giant rectangular pyramid that stands a whopping 70 to 100 feet tall,
03:48with three levels of terraces and a temple on top.
03:53Can you imagine how many baked bricks it took to build that thing?
03:57Try 720,000 for just the lower portion.
04:01This particular ziggurat was built for Sumerian king Ur-Nammu.
04:06Similar to other ones, this pyramid has been around for thousands of years.
04:11So it got a little rough around the edges.
04:13Thankfully, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II and some archaeologists came to the rescue
04:20in the 6th and 20th centuries respectively.
04:23And now you can find this near Talil Air Base.
04:30The Ziggurat at Ur was built in 2100 BCE by king Ur-Nammu for the moon deity Nana.
04:37It was the tallest building in the city and you could see it from miles around.
04:42It was like the medieval cathedral spire of its day.
04:45People would come here to bring their agricultural surplus and get their food allotments and
04:50seek spiritual nourishment.
04:52Sadly, the Nana temple at the top of the ziggurat didn't survive.
04:57But we do have some blue glazed bricks that may have been part of its decoration.
05:02The lower parts of the ziggurat are pretty amazing though.
05:07The architects even included holes in the temple's baked exterior to let the water
05:11evaporate from its core.
05:15Since we explored some of the pyramids on our planet, let's take a broader perspective.
05:21They can be found in many parts of the world.
05:24Egypt has over 100 pyramids, double that number in Sudan.
05:29And dozens of others are scattered in the Middle East and China.
05:34The Americas have the most pyramids in total, with more pyramids than the rest of the world
05:39combined.
05:40These pyramids are located in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
05:50Time to know more about the evolution of pyramids through history.
05:53The oldest pyramid is in Egypt.
05:57This pyramid was a step pyramid, which was created by placing one layer of stone on top
06:02of another.
06:03The pharaoh Sneferu is credited with creating the pyramid shape we recognize today.
06:09During his 45-year reign, he built three pyramids.
06:14His first two attempts failed, but he finally got it right with the Red Pyramid, which is
06:19considered the first true pyramid.
06:24It was Sneferu's son Khufu who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was the tallest
06:29human-made structure on Earth for almost 4,000 years.
06:34Latin American pyramids are similar to early Egyptian step pyramids, but they were built
06:39independently, with no knowledge of each other.
06:43The pyramids in Sudan were built around 700 BCE and are tall but much narrower than those
06:50in Egypt.
06:52How in the world did all these civilizations build these things without even texting each
06:57other?
06:58After all, the Aztecs, Mayans, and ancient Egyptians were about as different as possible.
07:04But despite their cultural differences, they all seemed to agree on one thing.
07:09Pyramids were pretty cool.
07:12Step pyramids are all around the world because they were the most feasible and stable way
07:16to build large and tall structures without access to lighter building materials like
07:21wood and metal.
07:24The triangular form with a square base is the best way to build a sturdy structure,
07:29and having a cube structure would require more material for less height.
07:34Now, when it comes to pyramid design, the Egyptian pyramids were like giant triangles
07:39with a square base, smooth sides, and a pointy top.
07:44On the other hand, the Aztecs and Mayans went for a tiered cake look, with steps leading
07:49up to a flat platform on top.
07:52So while all these pyramids share the same basic shape, they have their own unique flair.
07:58Each group built its pyramids using different materials, techniques, and slope angles.
08:03So while they may have been inspired by each other's work occasionally, they were just
08:07doing their own thing.
08:09Egyptian pyramids had smooth, angled sides that were designed to help the pharaoh's
08:14soul ascend to heaven.
08:16The Pyramid of the Sun was built over a series of caves that served as a passageway for the
08:21deities.
08:23The Maya built the temple of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza to honor the deity Kukulkan, usually
08:28represented by a serpent.
08:31Nicknamed El Castillo, it has 91 steps on each side, plus a platform.
08:36That's 365 steps, one for each day of the Mayan calendar.
08:44Tell me, Bright Siders, how were pyramids built?
08:47To begin with, humans made them, not a foreign race from space that landed on Earth.
08:53You see, one thing that all pyramids have in common is that they were built without
08:57advanced tools or even the wheel.
09:00It took a lot of people to build them, including skilled laborers and architects.
09:06For example, it's estimated that 20,000 people built the Great Pyramid of Giza, and
09:12it's believed that most of them were skilled laborers.
09:16Building pyramids was a massive undertaking that required years of planning and effort.
09:22The Great Pyramid at Cholula, Mexico took 600 years to complete.
09:28That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like
09:35and share it with your friends.
09:36Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!