Download The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt Science and Its Times, 2001

The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt
Science and Its Times, 2001
Overview
One of the most enduring accomplishments of early civilizations was the creation of
monumental architecture in the form of pyramids, a shape that has fascinated humans ever
since. The Greeks and Romans considered the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt as the most
impressive of the seven wonders of the world. Even today, a pyramid is printed on the back
of American dollar bills, and in the 1980s, a glass and steel pyramid was built in the courtyard
of the Louvre in Paris as a new entrance to the museum. Although pyramids were
constructed in the ancient world in areas as far apart as Peru, Central America,
Mesopotamia, and Indonesia, those built in the Old Kingdom of Egypt have drawn the most
attention in the Western world.
Background
Although the pyramids of ancient civilizations were massive structures, their most impressive
aspect is not their size, but rather the fact that they were built at all. Judged by modern
standards, they performed no pragmatic, functional purpose. They were not storehouses for
food, provided no protection from invaders, nor did they offer shelter from the elements.
Instead, they were built for religious purposes by peoples willing to expend extraordinary
amounts of labor and economic resources in the construction of these structures, which
served as burial sites or as monumental platforms for temples.
The earliest of these monuments were built in Peru about 3500 B.C., in the form of truncated
mounds of earth and stone rubble, topped with a temple. Much later, pyramids were
constructed in Central America (termed Mesoamerica by archaeologists), particularly in
present-day Mexico. The Olmec peoples built tamped-earth pyramid mounds beginning
around 1000 B.C. Near what is now Mexico City, an unknown people constructed the
massive Pyramid of the Sun in about A.D. 100, and both the Maya and Aztecs built huge
pyramid structures. Elsewhere, pyramids were being built in Egypt by 2700 B.C.; in nearby
Mesopotamia, pyramids called ziggurats were constructed by the Sumerians from 2100 B.C.
on. Considered by some
archaeologists to be pyramids, dome-shaped towers (stupas) were built by Buddhists in
ancient India and Indonesia. While not all ancient civilizations constructed pyramids, their
form seemed to satisfy a religious need in various polytheistic cultures.
The most common form of these ancient monuments was the step pyramid, a structure built
in five or six stages, or steps, each rectangular stage smaller in area than the one below it.
Outside staircases rose to the top platform, which held a temple or shrine. It was built in a
heavily populated area and was intended to provide a dramatic setting for religious
ceremonies. The "true" pyramids of Egypt were different in both form and function. They
had a square ground plan with the four walls of triangular shape meeting at an apex above
the center of the base; they supported no architectural or decorative features. Built outside
cities on the edge of the desert, they served as burial tombs not accessible to the general
population. But whichever form a pyramid took, it served as an ideological icon, as a stairway
or mountain reaching to the heavens.
The Egyptian pyramids have received the most attention from historians, archaeologists, and
the general public. Aesthetically, their closed geometric form probably functions as a
subliminal metaphor for perfection. In addition, the Mesoamerican pyramids were far more
inaccessible to scholars and tourists than were those of Egypt, which were easily reached by
travel up the Nile River. Also, Sumerian ziggurats and many Central American pyramids were
built of mud bricks and other less stable materials that have crumbled into chaotic mounds.
Many of the stone pyramids of Egypt, while damaged, are still close enough to their original
shape to be impressive. Another factor explaining the popularity of the Egyptian pyramids is
the writings of the so-called pyramidiots who, for over a century and a half, have published
scores of books revealing the "secrets" of the pyramids. Some have claimed they are divine
prophecies in stone predicting future events; others view them as proof that Earth was once
visited by aliens. Theories such as these, coupled with myths of the "curse" of the pharaohs
and the mummy's "revenge," have made the Egyptian pyramids irresistible.
Impact
The age of the pyramids in Egypt began about 2780 B.C. and ended around 1550 B.C.,
although it should be noted that scholars do not agree upon the dates (or even the
chronology) of Egyptian history. Over 70 royal pyramids are known to have been built in this
period; it is impossible to estimate how many more lie hidden under the desert sands or
have crumbled, leaving no traces. Much later, kings in Nubia (present-day northern Sudan)
built about 180 smaller, inferior pyramids during the period 720 B.C. to A.D. 350. The golden
age of the Egyptian pyramids was in the Old Kingdom, particularly
during the fourth dynasty (2575-2465 B.C.) when, in a single century, the greatest of these
monuments were constructed. Subsequent Egyptian pyramid builders looked back to this
period for inspiration and models.
Ancient Egypt, which stretched along the Nile River, was unified in about 3000 B.C. With
unification, the kings (later called pharaohs) and their officials learned to organize large
numbers of Egyptians to control the annual flooding of the Nile and to irrigate the fields as
the waters slowly receded. Such organizational skills were essential for successful completion
of the pyramids and the many buildings and walls in the pyramid complex. Thousands of
conscripted peasants (not slaves) had to be organized into teams to
transport and then raise into place the huge stones used in the pyramids. Thousands of
others were needed to work in the quarries and at the pyramid site as skilled laborers. Farms
had to be established to feed these workers. Only a strong central government could provide
the necessary organizational expertise and finances for such an effort.
The Egyptians regarded their king as an incarnation of the god Osiris and the son of Re, the
sun god. After the king died, they believed that he joined the gods and hence could intercede
on their behalf with the divine powers. But this did not automatically occur. Egyptians
viewed death as a continuation of life, and were convinced that the survival of the soul (the
ka) in the afterlife depended on its rejoining the body's manifestation (the ba) after death.
This would not happen if the body was decaying. Hence they mummified and embalmed the
body of the deceased, removing all the viscera to prevent decay. They also believed that all
the material needs for the ba, such as food, must be supplied for eternity or the ka would
perish. Thus it was imperative that they build a tomb for the king that would be ready at his
death, would protect his remains, would provide the necessities for his eternal survival, and
would remind him of the loyalty of his subjects.
Much about the pyramids puzzle scholars, such as how they were aligned so perfectly with
certain stars. Their biggest mystery is how they were built; that is, how such huge blocks of
stone were raised into position. Most archaeologists and historians believe that some system
involving ramps was employed, but there is no agreement as to how they were arranged.
Nor is there agreement on the purpose of the smaller, subsidiary pyramids in the pyramid
complex; although it is clear some were tombs for members of the king's family, others seem
to have no obvious purpose.
Built to last through eternity, the pyramids suffered from two problems. As centuries passed,
subsequent builders removed their limestone casings for other uses, such as constructing
new pyramids. Once the casing was removed, the inner core deteriorated. The second
problem greatly concerned later kings. The pyramids were very conspicuous and in times of
anarchy such as in the First and Second Intermediate periods, the burial chambers were all
broken into and looted by robbers. Since the pyramids failed to protect the remains of the
king against such desecration, newer burial methods had to be developed. Ahmose I (c. 1550
B.C.) seems to have been the last major pyramid builder in Egypt. Instead of building massive
monuments, the royal tombs were now hidden in the cliffs of inaccessible valleys across the
Nile from Thebes. Thutmose I (c. 1500 B.C.) was probably the first of the many kings to be
buried in the isolated valley known today as the Valley of the Kings.
Source Citation
"The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil
Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. World History
In Context. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.