FREE ESSAY ON EGYPT&MEXICAN PYRAMIDS

EGYPT&MEXICAN PYRAMIDS

Mysteries of the Ancient World
For many centuries people have been fascinated by ancient cultures and treasures. During
the last two centuries the science of archeology and modern inventions allowed people to
get inside of the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids and discover the treasures of Egyptian
pharaohs and Mayan rulers. Most of what we know about Egypt we owe to the pyramids.
Thanks to Egyptian belief in the afterlife we can now find out about the civilization
that existed nearly five thousand years ago. Egyptian culture is not the only culture
that left us its heritage in pyramids. In America we find pyramids build by civilizations
of Olmec and Maya about 7th century CE. These pyramids had different purposes and usage
then the ones in Egypt but they stand as memorials to ancient civilizations as well. 
Egyptian people believed in life after death. One of the way pharaohs prepared themselves
for the afterlife journey was by building a pyramid and putting there all their
belongings and riches. Egyptian people believed that pharaoh is the closest person to the
God and treated him accordingly. That is the reason for Egyptian tombs being full with
the golden jewelry, precious stones and art objects. Most of the time art objects were
not considered a treasury but they played their particular role in religious rituals.
Jars were holding food and drinks for pharaoh's journey, so he would not get hungry and
would have 
food and drinks to offer to the Gods. The figurative sculptures were suppose to accompany
Ka ( spiritual entity) in its lonely stay or serve as a twin for the mummy. If something
happens to the mummy the ka could use the sculpture of the pharaoh for the revelation. 
As well as for Egyptians religion was an everyday concern for many of the Maya, whether
the dynastic ruler, the zealous priest, or the humble believer. Maya has an extensive
religion structure which we can not know in details. Chac and Itzamna are the most famous
gods of Mayan culture. Hunahpu and Xbalanque are among the most interesting mythical
characters. One of the most crucial gods was Tlaloc, who was worshiped in various guises
by the culture of Teotihuacan, the Toltec of Tula, and later Aztecs. The Maya received
the cult of Tlaloc during the 4th century more or less. The Cauac Monster, also known as
the Witz monster, is a dominant supernatural concept in Maya religion, as are caves,
cenotes, and other holy places (Maya Civilization pars. 6). The Maya built shrines,
temples, and pyramids in honor of their gods, as well as to their kings, who ruled by
all-encompassing concept of Divine power. Most of Mayan pyramids are temples to the gods,
not the burial tombs as in Egypt. Even though Maya sometimes buried there their rulers
they always put the temple on the top of the pyramid. Egyptians had temples near the
pyramid or right next to it for the ceremonial services, but it never was placed on top
of the structure. 
Also buildings in both cultures have a lot in common in their visual characteristics they
are different structures. Egyptian pyramids originally had smooth equal sides meeting on
the top in the perfect apex. Mayan pyramids look like one huge stairway towards the sky.
It reminds of earliest Egyptian structures-mastabas, where one layer of stones was put
onto another creating the effect of pyramid. Also The Tikal Temple on Great Plaza was
originally plastered white. Then the roof comb was painted with reds, blues, and other
colors to accent the different areas of sculptural decoration. These roof combs were like
giant billboards, with immense portrayals of the enthroned king, larger then life size
(Cities pars.3). Egyptians never colored their religious structures. As well as in
Egyptian pyramids, the stone used to construct Mayan pyramids is local limestone,
obtained from nearby quarries. The ancient Maya had no stone tools but limestone is soft
enough that the Maya could utilize chert tools to work the stone in to neat rectangular
building blocks. Egyptian pyramids served as huge tombs and they were constructed in such
a way so they would stand for thousand years. Egyptians did not know when the spirit
would return into the dead body. Pyramids were constructed of rough stone blocks laid in
horizontal rows, in a polygonal shape, with triangular sides rising to meet in the apex.
Some were originally as high as 750 feet. The pyramids were built by taking blocks of
granite to the workshops, measuring the blocks down the size, shaping the block and
placing it into the body of the pyramid. Then on top of the built structure workers put
the limestone going from the top to bottom. 
Egyptians left two empty rooms to place the pharaoh's mummy and his belongings in. They
sealed pyramids so well that it took four hundred years for robbers to get in. It is
believed that the pyramids would be standing intact today if it were not for later
destruction by robbers and invaders and for use as a building material. As it is, the
massive stone buildings are rising right now outside of Cairo. The interiors of these
huge stone structures contain a series of a narrow passages, ending in several large
chambers. The central chamber was the burial room, always reached by a passage from the
north, and containing a false stone door on the west side, representing an exit for the
deceased soul. The roofs of these chambers were formed of layers of stone beams, lying on
top of another, each layer weighing more then 30 tons. The passages into burial chamber
was often hewn out of the rock directly from the outer edge. As well as Egyptian pharaoh
Mayan rulers like Giant Jaguar was buried in his tomb with hundreds of offerings-vases,
jade, jewels and so on. Mayan temple-pyramids usually contained one or more rooms,
however, the rooms were so narrow that they could only have been used on ceremonial
occasions and were not meant for public consumption.
Most of the Egyptian pyramids were built by six pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, and were
considered sacred shrines. On the contrary to general beliefs pyramids were built by free
citizens, drafted to public work, not by slaves. Thousand experts worked on the design of
pyramids all year round. An extra work group about ninety-five thousand men worked on the
construction site during the four month period of the inundation ( the time of enforced
idleness for farmers, since the fields were covered with the water of Nile) (Payne 24). 
The most famous Egyptian pyramids are the three pyramids five miles southwest of Giza,
which is three miles southwest of Cairo. The largest pyramid, 481 feet high and 786 feet
along east side of base, was built for Khufu, who reigned between 2900 and 2877 B.C. The
pyramid of Khafre, who reigned about 2859 B.C. is slightly smaller, but it is on a higher
ground so that the apex is higher. The smallest pyramid (yet not small at all) was built
by Menkure about 2800 B.C. (Casson 5). One of the most famous sites of Mayan culture is
Tikal in Guatemala. Numerous buildings stayed almost intact at the Great Plaza: the
Temple of the Giant Jaguar (700 A.D.), the Temple of the Masks (699 A.D), and the North
Acropolis. At the heart of the Temple of the Giant jaguar is the tomb of high priest. The
sanctuary for worship at the top of the structure sits on a nine-tiered pyramid.
In each cultures each pyramid was built for the body of only one man. Usually, caskets
full of jewels, furniture in laid with ivory and gold, silver and alabaster bowls and
vessels, chests filled with clothing and precious ornaments, jars filled with food and
wine were put in the room next to the room with the mummy. Among the objects found in the
Egyptian pyramids were the shabtis. Shabtis are small statues in the form of nude humans,
often wrapped in linen and placed in model coffins. They were inscribed with a prayer for
food offerings, although they probably also functioned as alternative abode for the ka.
By the Middle Kingdom (2025 B.C) the figures had become mummiform in shape, and their
inscriptions clearly join the deceased with Osiris, the god of the underworld, who rose
to prominence during this period. By late Dynasty XII (1850 B.C.) The statuettes'
original function as residence for the ka has expanded greatly. Although the original
identification with the tomb owner was never lost, the figures were seen primarily as
workers who performed a service for the deceased, and they became known by the ancient
Egyptians as shabits. Rapidly shabit-figures came to represent the deceased's servants in
the afterlife and were so popular that they replaced the model servant statues previously
deposited in upper-class graves of the Old and Middle Kingdoms (Life sect.1).
One of the most important traditions in the Egyptian culture was the mummification of the
dead body. According to Egyptian religion the body had to be intact in order for Ka to
return. Mummification of the dead body was a complicated and long process. The famous
Greek historian Herodotus reported on the Egyptian practice of mummification:
They take first a crooked piece of iron, and with it draw out brain through the nostrils,
thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with
drugs; next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out
the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it throughly with
palm wine, and again frequently with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they
fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of
spicery except frankincense, and sew up the opening. (Herodotus sect.1) 
After these procedures were done the body was placed in natrum for saventy days. They put
the body into the wooden coffin which was shaped into the man figure. Sometimes the
wooden coffin was placed into the golden one decorated by precious stones and paint. In
Mayan culture we find no evidences that any techniques of mummification were used. In the
humid climate of Central America it is very hard to preserve a dead body for such a long
time that is needed for the mummification process. 
As we can see Mayan and Egyptian cultures have a lot in common. However, some major
differences can be found. Mayan religion was not obsessed with an afterlife beliefs as
Egyptians were. Their pyramids were built either for Gods or as a memorial to the dead
ruler or priest. Egyptians built their pyramids for the dead. Their buildings were meant
to be used in the other life by the great spirits buried in them. Some visual differences
also occur. Most of the Mayan pyramids are shorter then the ones at Giza site. They are
not sealed forever but has an access for the priests and authorized people. The major
difference is that Maya put the shrine right on top of the pyramid. The stairs led from
the ground to the top of the pyramid. This way people thought they would be closer to
God. In Egypt only pharaoh was considered to be closer to God therefore an enormous
buildings reaching the sky was meant to be the stairway to the heaven only for the
pharaoh. 
Nowadays these both ancient cultures still hold many mysteries for us. Most of the things
we know are based on the speculations of the scientists, not on the certain facts.
Archeologists working on discovering more and more about the ancient civilizations that
existed thousand years ago but appeared much more advanced then we used to think about
it. However, many of the documents, scripts and art evidences disappeared during such a
long time. Robbers, invaders and weather were the reason for the huge loss of historical
items that were kept in ancient Maya cities and along the Nile. I am sure that in the
future many of the mysteries will be unfolded, but as for now, ancient people keep
fascinate us with their enigmas.
Bibliography
Casson, Lionel. Ancient Egypt Canada: Time Inc. 1965.
"Cities of the ancient Maya". Mystery of Maya. CMCC. May 1999.
http://www.civilization.ca/membrs/civiliz/maya/mmc01eng.html
"Herodotus Reports on Mummification." May 1999.
http://pluto.clinch.edu/history/wciv1/civ1ref/mummy.html
"Life in Ancient Egypt. Shabtis." Ed. Craig Patch. Exc. from Reflections of Greatness:
Ancient Egypt at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 1990.
http://www.yahoo.com/egypt/
"Maya Civilization." Mystery of Maya. CMCC. May 1999.
http://www.civilization.ca/membrs/civiliz/maya/mmc01eng.html
Newby, P.H. The Egypt story, its art, its monuments, its people, its history. Italy:
Abbreville Press: 1979.
Payne, Elizabeth. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House, Inc. 1984.
"Photographs of Maya ruins of Tikal showing how Hasselblad cameras and Zeiss lenses
result in better pictures". Maya Art & books. International Photographic Archive of Maya
Art. June 1998. http://www.maya-art-books.org/html/New_photos.html
"The First Egyptian Mummies". Corkankhamun explains mummification. May 1999.
http://members.aol.com/mumifyddog/first.html
"Why Egyptians Made Mummies". Corkankhamun explains mummification. May 1999.
http://members.aol.com/mumifyddog/first.html